


Heartsick

by girlskylark



Series: Nymph Lance Vs The World [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura and Lance are Siblings, Altean Empire, Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Galra Empire, Galra Keith (Voltron), Implied/Referenced Character Death, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Nymph Lance, Nymph Lance AU, Pining Lance (Voltron), Prisoner of War, Protective Lance (Voltron), Romantic Fluff, Sick Lance (Voltron), War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-10 17:59:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 35,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12917235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlskylark/pseuds/girlskylark
Summary: As Keith and Lance grow accustom to their romance no longer being supervised, Shiro and Allura's relationship is put on hold when trouble stirs on the other side of the Empire. With Allura gone, Lance's anxiety and unchecked worrying thrusts him into a fever-ridden illness that will only be fully cured when Allura returns.Months pass, and the state of affairs in Kuron don't improve. Instead, a terrorist attack in Keith and Shiro's homeland, Daibazaal, pits them all into a tense situation. Allura must decide which of Zarkon's sons will be sacrificed for the loyalty of their people, and Lance will do everything to stop her from executing Keith.[ Part 2 of Nymph Lance Vs The World ][ Who am I to tell you which to read first XD I always read series out of order anyhow shhh don't tell the authors ]





	1. { how to be badass: a lesson from lance }

Chaos broke out a short while after everything was assumed to be settled.

Keith and Lance were without vigorous supervision, and they spent most days reading in the library together when they weren’t up and about with Hunk, or out on the beach. Keith’s milky white skin was tan and pink now from his time in and out of the sun, and freckles started to dot his shoulders from the sun exposure. Lance liked to kiss the new ones hello, and welcome, because they would be seeing each other just about every night when Keith slept beside with his bare shoulder peaking out from underneath the comforter. 

Shiro, on the other hand, was stuck. He was stuck in the routine he set for himself as it merged with Allura’s. He was raised to attend to his father’s every whim, and no one below him. Truthfully, it was a bit of a relief to be away from their father, not that Shiro disliked the politics. He loved the prospect of one day ruling in his father’s place, but… he and his father didn’t see eye-to-eye on most things.

Allura, on the other hand, _did_ , but her methods were just as coarse as they were refined. Her life was built on being taught the past mistakes of previous conquerers so that she could learn from them and be the great ruler she was now. She was just and fair, but rigid with everyone she dealt with including herself. He saw the worst of her perilous efforts to keep herself in check.

There came a day that Allura broke her routine for the sake of an emergency trip elsewhere with Coran. Shiro was flattered to hear later from Pidge that she requested that he come with her, but Coran was adamant that Shiro stay behind. He was the son to a potentially dangerous ally—word would get around that the two of them were seeing each other, and Shiro’s father would assume that Shiro was too indispensable to be murdered should Zarkon act out of place. 

The fact that she agreed with Coran reassured him that he was, in fact, a little more indispensable than he was when he first came to Altea. 

Keith walked with Shiro the first day Allura left, at the exact time Allura took her late weekday stroll through the gardens. It felt strange to be with anyone other than Allura out there. 

“Lance tells me you two are close,” Keith said.

“Why, has she mentioned anything to him?” he asked, genuinely curious, for she was always on _his_ mind. She was unlike any royal lady he had ever met.

“I imagine it was something like that. But you know Lance—he tends to exaggerate things sometimes,” he said with a laugh and a wistful sigh. “He misses her right now. It’s why he keeps talking about her.”

“Really? She’s barely been gone half a day.”

“I know. He’s all worked up though. Honestly, at this rate? He might worry himself sick.”

And, of course, Lance _did_ worry himself sick. He came down with a fever later that night, and with the doctor in charge of his state, the man nearly leapt out of his skin when one of the servants asked if they should send a telegram to the Empress.

“Good gods, are you _mad?_ She’d come back without hesitation, and she can’t do that with the state of things in Kuron,” the doctor said urgently.

“And who are you to decide what she should and shouldn’t do?” Hunk demanded from off on the side, a good distance away from where Lance was lying pallid and glistening with sweat on the bed. Anything that had to do with colds worried Hunk far too much for comfort. He had a cousin die from the common cold, and ever since then, sniffles sent him running. 

“If Lance is ill because his sister isn’t here, we should bring her back!”

“That’s ridiculous,” Keith huffed, sitting beside Lance to hold the cold pack to his forehead. “It’s just a fever. We can’t worry her over every little thing.”

“ _This_ isn’t _little_ ,” Hunk squeaked.

“I have this under control,” the doctor reassured him. “Just _please_ , do _not_ send for the Empress. She was needed urgently to quell the rebellion, and can _not_ be disturbed. Is that understood?”

The servant nodded fervently, and Hunk looked away with a huff of his reluctant agreement. Keith sighed from the bedside and looked down at Lance, who was panting hard and lifting his eyelids open to weakly blink at Keith. “Is… Allura here? Is she okay?” he asked softly, voice hoarse. It reminded Keith of the fifth hour of listening to Lance puke dragon’s tongue. 

Keith swallowed hard and shook his head. “She’s not here, but she’s okay. She’s just gone to Kuron.”

“How… long’s it been?” he asked, tears the size of gumdrops dripping form his cheeks when Keith simply shrugged, not wanting to admit that it had just barely been a day. 

“This happens every now and then when Allura leaves,” the doctor reassured Keith with a tired sigh. He twisted a towel between his hands as he watched Keith wrap Lance up in his arms and sit with him on the bed. “It’s nothing you can contract. Truthfully… it happens to both halfblooded nymphs and pure ones. I mostly see it in pure nymphs after they’ve… killed their spouses on accident.”

“Goodie,” Keith said sharply, scowling at the doctor from over Lance’s shoulder. He wished Thace was here instead.

Shiro came to visit Keith and Lance the following day after not having seen a wink of either of them. Keith stayed quarantined with Lance, and ate his meals there, and so Shiro came in the late evening after his own meal to say goodnight. Keith was alerted to his entry by one of the guards opening the door, and letting Shiro in.

“Shiro?” Keith said, sitting up a little, but Lance was clinging to him as if his hands were suctioned to Keith’s shoulders. “What are you doing here?”

“You weren’t at dinner… or lunch, so I figured I’d check on you,” he confessed, eyeing the way Lance moaned and groaned when Keith tried to stand. 

“I’ll just be on the other side of the room,” Keith promised Lance, kissing his damp hair and laying him down. He plucked Lance’s fingers off of his wrists and brushed his hands on his trousers as he walked towards Shiro.

Shiro raised an eyebrow at Keith, and Keith merely gave him a droll stare. “He really can’t keep himself together, can he?” Shiro whispered.

“Hush up, he can probably hear you,” Keith hissed under his breath. “In case you forgot, his mother was elvish.”

“Still, you don’t see me bawling my eyes out when I’ve been seeing Her Majesty more often than _he_ does these days,” Shiro huffed, crossing his arms. When he looked back at Keith, Keith was glaring all over again. “Oh, what is it?”

“You’re moody. You may not cry, but you’re still an _asshole_ when you’re sad,” Keith said.

They both grimaced then, because distantly, they could hear Lance moaning, “ _Keeeith… come baaack_ …”

Keith turned pink and refused to look at Shiro, because he _knew_ he’d find a smug grin on his brother’s face. “You can’t _blame_ him. He feels things differently than we do.”

“Oh?”

“Oh, you know what I mean,” Keith snapped. “And I’m not being mean when I say that he’s sensitive. There’s nothing wrong with being sensitive to emotions.”

“Nothing wrong with it,” Shiro scoffed, and jumped when Keith slapped his arm. “All I’m saying! is that he’s _dramatic_ , is all.”

“Thanks, _Captain Obvious_ ,” Keith huffed. “Now I really have to get going. We’re in the middle of the sequel to _Fair Weathered Affairs_.”

“What? So now you read romance novels?” his brother said, but he never received a solid answer, except for a withering stare from Keith before he turned away and headed back to Lance’s bed. Shiro let out an annoyed sigh, dropping his arms to his sides. 

Lately, Keith just wasn’t the same, and he was starting to miss their practices together. With the privacy ban gone, Keith spent more time with Lance than he ever did before. He missed one practice, and then he missed all of them, and so once again, Shiro’s routine was thrown off. 

Shiro left Lance’s bedchamber, and that stuffy air that smelled of sickness. That night he laid awake in his bed, reflecting on everything he refused to acknowledge before. He tried so hard to pretend that everything was all right between him and his brother. It was starting to feel like his efforts were a bother to the both of them, and the question became, “Why bother?” Lance made Keith happy. Keith didn’t need his older brother anymore to watch out for him. Truthfully, Shiro couldn’t remember a time in their lives when Keith was genuinely as happy as he was now, for so long a period as well. 

_Maybe I remind him too much of home_ , he wondered. _Maybe all my efforts are just frustrating to his progress. Keith never wanted to be a general, and here I am trying to test him like he is one. I just remind him of the things he never wanted to be_.

Shiro was just there… ruining Keith’s chances of moving on… But perhaps he was just too desperate to stick to the way things were. He always struggled with _change_ , and moving to Altea was more than a shock to him. It took weeks to get used to it, until he started to see the beauty in not having to stress over every little thing he did. He might still be in line to inherit his father’s position, butliving in Altea put a hold on that whole affair. Still, it didn’t stop him from worry incessantly about it, and how his destiny played out in his life.

The newest part of his life was none other than the Empress, though, and she was gone for _months_. 

She intended to be gone for no more than a few weeks, but things changed, and she was demanded elsewhere. That “elsewhere” was yet to be mentioned to those at the palace, but unbeknownst to them all, she was on the brink of the former Galra Empire. 

The rebellion was a facade to cover the assault on her soldiers securing the border of Keith and Shiro’s homeland. After everything that had happened with Zarkon, fealty was sworn vindictively, and the grudges still stood within the proud members of their race. Explosives went up, and it wasn’t until several thousand were dead that Allura and Coran heard word of it.

As she pored over the death count, and the lists upon lists of names responsible for this, she was interrupted by a telegram from Altea. She could only think of one thing to make this all better, but the thought of Lance instantly sprung up a dozen other issues revolving around _Prince Keith_.

She tried her best to look grateful as the poor courier scurried off out of her quarters. Coran’s eyes followed him from where he was speaking with a native Kuro on the details of the rebellion—all Galra Empire apologists, and angry citizens of Kuron who were simply distraught at having their patriotism conflicted with loyalty for the Empire as a whole. 

“Who’s it from?” he asked her.

“Just a bird,” she murmured. “I have one of the kitchen staff looking after Lance while I’m gone.”

She slipped her letter opener under the adhesive and cut it.

“I haven’t heard from Lance at all, though. I expected to hear from him,” she confessed, disappointed that her brother hadn’t thought to send so much as a simple memo about how he’s been. “You know how he gets sometimes when I’m gone…”

Coran dismissed the Kuro from the room, and once the door was closed, he said, “I imagine Keith being there improves his mood a lot, though, don’t you think?”

“Don’t _mention it_ ,” she muttered, glaring up at him before settling her eyes on the first word of the telegram. “Oh. Oh dear,” she breathed, pinching her fingers between her lips as she looked up at Coran and gestured for him to come nearer, and read the note from over her shoulder.

 

_Your Majesty,_

_As it is, the young prince has been suffering from a violent fever since the moment you left. He is just now recovering from what I hear, as I was not allowed down his corridor when the illness struck. He and the Galran Prince were quarantined, though Prince Keith seems to be in perfect health._

_Prince Lance’s esteemed doctor informed the entire staff of Lance’s condition to ensure that we not worry. He only ever did so after two weeks, and before then, refused any question to sending word to you about it. As it has been several months, and he continues to fret that should you get word of this, you wouldn’t hesitate to return against the greater responsibility you have in Kuron._

_Your loyal servant_

 

“That- That _dreadful man!_ ” Allura spat, all but crumpling the telegram onto her desk. She shoved herself to her feet, startling Coran back from where he’d been reading over her shoulder. “This is… His dishonesty is unforgivable—hiding this from me!”

“Allura—”

“I’ve always loathed that man’s sanctimony! Believing himself to be in the right when fidelity to me is—Does he see his position _superior_ to my own? _Clearly_ , if he decides what is good for me before thinking to tell me the _truth_ ,” she seethed, pacing away from her desk.

“My lady, please take a moment to breath,” Coran requested, and despite her boiling fury, she turned to him with a huff, and another deep exhale. When she was thoroughly quieted, he said, “Do you not think, though, that he may have a point? What is your first instinct upon hearing this?”

“To hang him.”

“Well, after that.”

She fidgeted like a child, turning away with a pitiful sneer. When it came to Lance, she couldn’t help it. They were both raised together as children, and sometimes, she still played the spoilt child she sometimes threatened he was. But she never thought of him as a… _beloved toy_ because Lance would always be her brother, and she would always be his caretaker. And that was just how things were.

“To go back to him,” she murmured quietly, half-hoping Coran hadn’t heard it. It was exactly what Lance’s doctor knew her heart to be. 

“We have bigger things to handle now than Lance’s illness. He’s in good hands, and will be well taken care of,” Coran reassured her. 

“You read the telegram—it’s been _months_. Months, Coran! And I- I miss him so terribly my heart aches to think about him in that state,” she confessed, breath hitching as she tried to quell the burning sensation behind her eyes. Her sorrows twisted into anger again, “And now I know that when I’m not there, all he claims to have is _Keith_. Keith this, Keith that. You know I never approved of this from the start.”

“Very well, indeed.”

Allura turned away again, pinching her lip between her fingers as she thought of Keith again. They were dealing with Galran resistance. _Oh no._

“Oh gods, Coran,” she breathed. “I see what you mean.”

“And what’s that?” he asked, genuinely confused. He hadn’t thought he implied anything until Allura turned back with a look of distress on her face.

“We need to punish the rebellion, yes, but… we can’t just leave the citizens to come to their own conclusions and start up again,” she said. She set her jaw tight and said, “Zarkon’s sons must pay for their peoples’ treason.”

Coran didn’t pretend to look surprised, because he knew that would be the case as soon as the rebellion shifted to the Galran border. During that time, Allura merely pretended it would never happen, and so she intentionally forgot about it. She tried to protect herself from not only the pain of potentially losing Lance in the process, but also the fact that she had grown rather fond of Shiro’s company.

They fell into tense silence before Allura awkwardly dismissed herself. “Tell Pidge to run a bath for me,” she demanded of the Kuro servant assigned to guide her wherever she needed to go. “Fetch me once you do.”

“Yes, your majesty,” the girl said, bowing to her before running off to find Pidge in Allura’s chambers.

Allura never used to take baths. As a child, they scared her, and the fact that Lance loved them so much sent her into fits of worry and so she would demand to sit alongside his tub to ensure that he wouldn’t drown. She remembered the days when his water was filled with suds, all the floaty toys disappearing in the tactile fog. They would have fake water wars that involved a navy fleet on either side—Lance would always claim the wooden duck. He had better control of his nymphal magic as a child, and so they’d play it like chess on the water. She would let him win time and time again, because she would sacrifice her entire fleet drowning if it meant making Lance smile triumphantly like that.

Nowadays, she bathed without reservation. The moment Pidge was gone from the room, she would float before sinking. She would hold her breath for as long as she could, and pretend she was anything but alive because if she was to overcome her fears—even drowning—she would have to face it in the worst of times, and the best.

The water was pale purple around her, colored from the bath soap Pidge used to lift that heavy, soothing, lavender aroma from it. Allura stared at the ceiling for five seconds before submerging herself. The bathroom was quiet all except for the crackle of the rich candle wicks that were lit around her. She stayed underneath long beyond the point of burning lungs.

Her eyes opened underwater, and she grasped the edges of the tub to keep herself from lunging out of it. Her mouth fell open like a fish breathing, but all that came out was one last bubble before she gave in and forced herself out of the water, panting and gasping. 

Her heavy white hair blanketed her shoulders as she coughed and waited for the adrenaline to subside. The way her heart raced reminded her that she was only human, despite the way her followers tended to worship her.

 

. . .

 

There was a man in the palace who the Empress trusted just as much as she trusted her own advisor. That man was the Captain of her Imperial Guard.

The Imperial Guard was a distinguished troop founded by the Empress’ long-since-dead relative who conquered a great span of the globe centuries before Empress Allura took her first breath of life. Her title had been Marmora of House Altea, First of Her Name, Founder of The Blades, Empress of All The Known World. Her titles went on and on, as did her stories in elaborate legends that Coran used to read to Allura and Lance when they were children. She founded her empire on the name of their people: the House of Altea. Both Allura and Lance were chained to the legends, and the downfall of Empress Marmora’s reign. Their mother’s reign started the thunder that Allura would bring in her later years, adamant on scorching an even brighter trail than the one her ancestors created for the world. 

There were flaws along Empress Marmora’s stories, the chief among them being her personality, her values, her disinterest in All The Known World as it was. She was selfish, biased, and unjust—everything Allura wished she wasn’t. But… selfishness seemed to run in the family, and she couldn’t quite escape that humanistic trait. 

But when it came to her work with The Blades, Empress Marmora succeeded. It consisted of an elite group of knights destined to protect and honor House Altea. Empress Marmora was a fighter more than anything, which evolved into being a conquerer, always at the frontline with her men and women. The Blades evolved as well, and emerged from their underground nature to become the Imperial Guard they were today.

The Captain of the Imperial Guard was Kolivan, who served Allura’s mother in his younger years, and was promoted upon her passing due to Allura’s childish, immature crush when she was small and didn’t understand what romance was. He was far older, of course, and was merely amused by the way she blushed and fumbled around him. He caught her when she fell, and ensured that she was well kept after by the rest of Imperial Guard. Their loyalty was unquestioned, which was why they often accompanied her on journeys outside of the palace gates.

She always entrusted Kolivan with Lance, despite all of his misgivings about staying behind when his Empress was away. 

“Urgent message from Her Majesty to Captain Kolivan,” the courier informed the guard at the palace gate.

The guard passed it along to a servant at the palace door, who then tracked down the Captain where he was speaking with the guards on the outskirts of the Prince’s corridor. “What is it, I’m rather busy,” he said gruffly to the servant, who held up the silver platter the message sat on. 

He’d been working with Allura long enough to recognize her handwriting on the top of the envelope. He took it up in his hands and thanked the servant before dismissing himself from the guards to read the letter in private.

He broke Allura’s wax seal and unfolded the paper. 

As Captain Kolivan read through Allura’s demands, Keith moved his knight to claim Lance’s queen. “Check-and-mate,” Keith sang, and laughed as Lance let out an annoyed groan that turned into a cough. Keith nudged the glass of water closer to Lance. “Do you wanna go again?”

“I don’t understand why you’re so good at chess. I’ve been playing chess since I could hold the pieces,” Lance whined.

Keith shrugged and said, “I don’t know. My general back at home enjoys playing it on occasion. I guess I’m just so used to losing against him…”

“So you’re just saying that I’m easy to beat in comparison to him?” Lance laughed, and Keith leant back on his hands with a guilty smile. Lance looked down bashfully, but perked up faster than ever. “One more game! I’ll beat you this time, I swear it!”

“Oh? And if you don’t?” Keith asked cheekily, laughing when Lance’s giddy smile straightened into a flat stare.

“That’s for the winner to decide,” Lance said, and it was Keith’s turn to turn pink at the implication. He recovered fast, though.

“I’d like to see you conquer me,” Keith snickered.

“I’d like to see that as well,” he agreed, too set on rearranging the board to see the way Keith smiled eagerly at the image Lance was giving him.

Keith was just joining him in fixing the board when the doors to Lance’s sitting room were flung open. Lance looked up from the board, blue eyes curious until Keith turned to see the familiar head of the Imperial Guard walking towards them. 

“Kolivan—is something the matter?” Lance asked, preparing to stand, but Kolivan raised a hand to reassure him that he could stay where he was.

“I need to have a word with Keith, if that’s all right with you, my prince,” Kolivan said, and Keith’s eyes narrowed, taking in the fact that he was outnumbered. Kolivan might have been a polite fellow, but the fact that he came with numbers suggested that this wasn’t going to be a friendly encounter. Keith learned that from his father. 

Lance stood against Kolivan’s reassurances. “May I accompany him? What’s this about?”

“It is nothing that should concern you, my prince,” he said, and gestured a hand to Keith. “My lord, if I may?”

Keith looked up at where Lance was now scowling at his sister’s Captain. “Does Allura have something to do with this,” he demanded, voice unwavering. 

Kolivan lowered his hand then, and clasped it behind his back. “No. It is nothing serious,” he told Lance. His stoney structure had Lance wavering, until he eventually sat back down while Keith stood up and followed Kolivan out of the sitting room. They passed the wall of familial portraits that all seemed to stand and watch Keith being escorted by the Imperial Guard. 

In the corridor, they continued walking, and descended the steps to the first floor. Keith asked once, “What’s this about?” and didn’t ask again, because no one answered him. 

Eventually, they were outside, and Keith was met with the shock of finding Shiro out there with a group of guards outside of a military grade carriage. 

“This may be a surprise to you both,” Kolivan started as Keith hurried to stand beside his brother, sharing a nervous look with him before Kolivan went on, slowly. “But… it seems there’s been Galra resistance on the border. The details are unknown to me, but it’s spread. There has been eight thousand casualties as a result of the explosions, and the fires they caused.”

“Dear gods,” Shiro whispered. “When was this?”

“Again, I don’t know the details. There have been rumors that the rebellion Allura went to clear up was simply a ruse, but the attack was so catastrophic that not many escaped the area to speak of it. I doubt word of it would have reached here with any sort of reliability without an official’s seal of truth on it,” Kolivan explained.

“What can be done?” Keith asked, shaking his head. “Who started it? What can we do?”

Kolivan fell silent, and watched them quietly as Shiro rubbed a hand over his face and over his mouth. Keith looked between them, confused. “What? What is it?” he demanded. 

“We were brought here to stop this from happening,” Shiro said, eyes on the ground. “As long as we were assumed to be in danger of mistreatment, our father and our country wouldn’t have risked a rebellion.”

“The Empress would hate for anything to happen to either of you,” Kolvian said. “But she cannot ignore the promises she made to your father. Should this happen, one or both of you would have to be publicly beaten and executed to assert the Empress’ control.”

Keith’s stomach dropped. He knew what that meant. He knew that this would be a Strike One for his people. His journey to Altea was filled with conversations about this with Shiro as they contemplated the chances of this happening. Shiro insisted on being the one to go, but the truth of the matter was this: Shiro would be Strike Two. The last strike before the Empress would be forced to assert her power elsewhere. 

Keith was a second son. He was loved by his people, yes, but he wasn’t exciting or particularly _powerful_. He was an apprentice to a general. People recognized him on the streets, but he wasn’t fawned over and sought after like Shiro was. It would be a loss, and the severity of killing Keith would make it possible for them to believe that Empress Allura would do the same to Shiro.

“We cannot have Keith executed,” Shiro said gravely. “You know what would happen if you did. It has to be me.”

“I appreciate that you understand your duty as the Empress’ pawn, but she requested you both to be transported there,” Kolivan explained, shaking his head. “You just have to trust that by the time you get there, something will have been sorted out. Gods know we’re all hoping the same, for Lance’s sake and Her Majesty.”

Keith looked back to the carriage and realized that this was urgent, meaning that they were leaving _now_ and no later. “And what will you tell Lance when I don’t come back from this meeting?” he asked, turning back to look at the reservation on Kolivan’s face. He could tell that Kolivan was desperately trying to hide his worries about _that_ conversation.

“Whatever I can to make this easy for him,” he replied, steeling himself. “Now, there’s no time to waste.”

Despite their civility, Keith knew they were prisoners. They had been since they got there, but somewhere along the way—specifically, when his way merged with Lance’s—he forgot that. This was what Zarkon’s sons were to the Empress, nothing more, nothing less, and that was what they and the Empire needed to see. 

So, as they took their places in the carriage side-by-side, Keith tried to stop his hands from shaking by clasping them together on his lap. He squeezed his fingers so hard they ached, and his jaw ticked where he had his teeth clenched together. _So this is how I’m going to die, is it?_ he thought to himself. _Father would be so disappointed that I died lying down_. 

 

. . .

 

The moment Keith left the room, the doors were left open, and Lance walked out to follow them. He barely got a step down the hall when one of his guards said, “My prince, you cannot follow them. Captain’s orders.”

Lance steeled himself, and wiped the horrendous sneer from his face so that when he turned, he looked just as innocent as ever. “My apologies. He never clarified that to me. I’ll be off to my room then,” he declared, and passed the guards and the sitting room door. 

They followed him and remained posted outside of his room. When he moved to close the doors, they didn’t stop him like they used to, and so he quietly shut them before racing across the room to where he stashed the knotted curtain Keith tore from his balcony door the night they snuck out. He sprinted to the balcony, bundling up the fabric so that by the time he reached there, all he had to do was tie the curtain as securely as possible to the railing to create a makeshift ladder.

He yanked on it with all his might and it refused to budge, so he tossed the rest of it over. 

Lance glanced over the railing, suddenly wary of the distance. Just as he was about to wimp out, a hand slid over his own and secured him to the curtain fabric. Lance followed the tanned skin up to the face of his own imaginary Keith.

“I’ve done this a dozen times before,” he told Lance, the glow of his smile twisting Lance’s stomach into knots. “You can do it. I’ll be here to help you.”

It was so different from every other imaginary conversation he had with Keith. He was struck by the similarities, and how much he wished _real_ Keith was with him now helping him along. 

He climbed up onto the railing, and grabbed hold of the curtain as he let his feet dangle over the edge. Keith’s hands came to his shoulders, massaging the tension out of them. “Take it slow—the fabric’s silky. Twist it around your wrist like this to keep a good grip,” he said, and watched as Lance eased himself off of the railing. “I’m in danger, Lance—if you ever want to see me again—” Keith started, shaking his head as Lance rested his feet on the opposite side of the railing, between the dowels separating them. 

Lance surged forward and kissed the soft, gentle lips of his illusion. “I’m going to do everything I can to protect you,” Lance promised. He let out a shaky breath as he prepared for the plunge, and down he went, across the span of his balcony and the ground. Once he landed, he looked up and found that Keith had disappeared.

“Prince Lance?!” a guard shouted far down the length of the building. Lance jumped, still clutching onto the curtain as if he was still falling. “Prince Lance!” the man shouted, and all of Lance’s instincts told him to _run_.

He took off sprinting in the opposite direction, arms pumping and feet beating against the grass as he ran. He skidded over the gravel walkway in the garden, changing direction, and pushing himself off around the edge of the hedges and—

—straight into Hunk Garrett, and a… lovely looking woman holding onto his arm.

“Lance!” Hunk squeaked, and the woman yelped in shock, ducking behind Hunk as Lance panted hard, trying to catch his breath. “What are you—”

“The Prince is in here—I saw him come this way,” a guard’s voice sounded on the outskirts of the garden hedge maze. Lance’s entire being seized up in fear, and he frantically clutched at Hunk’s arm and began dragging him along. The woman followed suit.

“What’s this? What’s going on?” the woman asked, and Lance hissed for her to be quiet.

They disappeared into the maze Lance knew like the back of his hand. He and Hunk wasted many hours running its course, and so it was only a matter of losing the guards in it. Hunk and the woman stopped asking questions as the matter grew more dire—avoiding the guards, listening to them shout for Lance, worries about “What will the Captain think when he finds out…?”

They escaped through the back of the maze in the time it would have taken one of the guards to think to run along the side of it. They stopped for a breather, and just as they did, Lance looked up to find Keith among them, pointing towards the front of the palace grounds.

A carriage was leaving.

“Keith’s in there,” Lance said, pointing to it. 

Hunk turned to look, and the woman yelped, “ _Thee_ Lord Keith? Wait a moment, my prince, shouldn’t you really be—”

“What’s he doing in a _military_ carriage?” Hunk interrupted. 

“I don’t know,” Lance said, exasperated. “Kolivan came in demanding to speak with him. I think he lied to me about it having to do with Allura. I think something happened—something _Galra_ happened.”

Hunk’s mind worked fast to comprehend what Lance was suggesting. They all heard about the rebellions in Kuron, the neighbor to Keith and Shiro’s home country. Kuron used to be apart of the Galra Empire, until the Empress claimed it by force, tearing it from its allegiance with the Galra. It wasn’t a huge loss for their people in the end, as the Empress treated them just as fairly as all other nations, but it was the start of the Galra Empire’s fall.

“You think…? Oh no, Lance,” Hunk said.

“I need a horse,” Lance said.

“A _horse?_ Lance, you can’t travel that distance if they really are going—” Hunk started, and just then his lady friend spoke up.

“I can help you get a horse. I’m a bit of a rider myself—if anyone can catch up to the carriage, it’s my girl,” she said.

“Your… _girl?_ ” Lance repeated.

Hunk rolled his eyes and said, “Shay’s a professional jockey. You know how my parents love to gamble.”

“Ah,” Lance said, and was promptly dragged off by Shay hurrying them all to the garrison stables.

Shay Crystal was, as Hunk mentioned, a professional jockey. She was in love with everything to do with racehorses, and had since she was a child. She was racing since she was old enough to, and was evidently famous for it around these parts. Lance wasn’t much of a fan of horse racing, but he tried out everything that interested Hunk. Hunk’s enthusiasm changed Lance’s perspective of the event, but it was the only time he ever went—they snuck out to go together because every time he went with Allura, the social construct insisted that he stay quiet and impassive, and talk amongst snooty people who meant nothing to him. 

But the fact that Shay was a jockey meant that she owned a racehorse fast enough to catch up to Keith’s carriage.

They jogged up to the stables, and Shay gave the stablehand a sweet smile and said, “Just swinging by to show the Prince my girl!”

“She’s just where you left her, miss,” the stablehand said, eyes wide as he took in the fact that Lance was there. He bowed to Lance, and stepped aside as if afraid to get too close. Lance caught the boy’s eye and raised a finger to his lips—a code of silence. 

Once they were out of sight from the stablehand, they ran to the gate where Shay’s horse came to greet her, nudging her nose between the bars to rest against Shay’s waiting hand. “My Prince, meet Dandelion. Dandelion, I’m pleased to introduce you to my Prince Lance.”

“Dandelion?” Lance hummed.

“I love the color yellow,” she explained.

“Ah,” he said. He clasped his hands together. “So how does this work? Same as any horse, right?”

Shay gave him a strange look, and raised an eyebrow at Hunk. A worried look came to her face, and Lance realized he overstepped some sort of line. “What is it? I’ll be riding her, won’t I?”

“Are you kidding?” Hunk said, jaw dropping. “You, riding Dandelion?”

“What? What’s so weird about it?” Lance said, squinting at him. “Then what’s the damn plan here, mind tuning me in?”

“Dandelion is a _Thayserix thoroughbred_ , my prince,” Shay said, “and I mean no disrespect when I say that it’s impossible for a… standard rider to comprehend the complexity of riding a Thayserix thoroughbred.”

“I’ve galloped before,” he said self-consciously, and Shay released a pitiful sigh and shared another look with Hunk.

In the distance, they heard the guards’ shouts getting closer.

“Look—you two take separate horses to get out of here and avoid the guards. We won’t know the track Lord Keith is on until I find them, and I _will_ find them. We stay on their track for as long as we can until they stop for the night. Okay?” she said, and the shock on both of their faces had her blushing. “I’ve… overstepped my bounds. I don’t know what I was thinking—”

“No, not at all. It’s just—you’re brilliant, Shay,” Hunk said, and she smiled sheepishly as she undid the door chains and guided Dandelion out. 

As Shay mounted her horse, flowing skirt and all, Hunk pulled his horse from the stables alongside Lance and found that the guards had already come to check the stables. Hunk mounted his horse, preparing to book it at the closest opportunity, but Lance hissed for him to slow down and take his horse’s reigns. 

“ _What?_ ” Hunk hissed.

“She’s not my usual steed—say you’re getting it… getting it for Florona!”

“The _nurse?_ Lance, what the absolute fu—” 

Lance hissed for him to be quiet, and ducked between Shay and the stable wall. She yelped, startled by the fact that Lance was now hiding among her skirts as the guards came their way. 

“Good afternoon, miss,” the guard said to Shay. “Good afternoon, Lord Garrett. How are your days going?”

“Fine, sir,” Shay said, covering for Hunk’s nearly-visible nerves. “What can we do for you?”

“We’re inquiring about the whereabouts of the prince. Have you come across him? Has he come to you—Lord Garrett?”

“We haven’t seen him, no,” Shay said, giving a worried shake of her head. “Why? Has he gone missing?”

“I’m afraid so, ma’am. Just on the premises, it seems,” the guard explained. Hunk’s eyes trailed after the rest of the man’s group, who were peering into each stall to check and see that Lance wasn’t hiding among the hay. When they came close to the nearest stall, Lance tugged on Shay’s skirts to shield himself. Her cheeks flushed a little, but she gave no other indication that anything was wrong.

“Well, we do hope you find him,” Hunk said, voice surprisingly strong. “I’ve been wanting to show him a book I read from the newest shipment in the library.”

“Will do, sir. You two have a nice rest of your day,” the guard said, tipping his hat to them before moving along. 

Their escape went smoothly after that. They left the stables, and Lance mounted his horse before any of the guards left the building to catch him. “I’ll race ahead and catch up with them. This’ll be a lot of back and forth for a while, I imagine.”

“I know they’re heading to Kuron, but I can’t… Is it possible to travel all that way on _horseback?_ ” Lance asked as they approached the gates. None of them could reply, because another issue came to their attention.

The gate was closed, and two guards stood manning it.

“ _Shit_ ,” Lance huffed, clenching his fists around the reigns. 

“I’ll take care of it,” Shay insisted, spurring her horse into a fast trot ahead of them. 

Lance glanced over at Hunk and raised an eyebrow. Hunk turned away, ears red. “She’s somethin’ else, isn’t she?” Lance teased.

“Oh, shut it,” Hunk muttered, but he couldn’t stop his smile. 

“So you two met at the racetracks then?”

“More or less…” he said, scratching the back of his head as they rode up to where Shay was speaking with the guards.

“We have orders to keep the Prince on palace grounds,” the guards said. “We cannot let you through with him.”

“That’s ridiculous! We’re just going out for a stroll,” she insisted.

“I beg your pardon, but the Prince hasn’t gone past these gates in over a year, miss,” the other guard said. “I find it hard to believe that this is just a ‘stroll.’”

“What say my word against the Captain?” Lance asked, and the guards clamped their mouths shut, looking to one another worriedly. The Captain would have their asses mounted above his fireplace if they let the Prince out. It had been that way ever since the assassination attempt that nearly cost Lance his life. “I demand you let us pass! Doesn’t my word mean anything in the matter?”

“It does, My Prince, but… these orders are from the Empress,” one said, and the knowledge of this had Lance’s face burning in anger and embarrassment. Of course his sister was behind his palace isolation.

Lance twisted his mouth into a fine, thin line and thrust his reigns into Hunk’s hands. “Take my horse,” he hissed, and swung his leg over the back of his saddle. He dropped onto the ground, and the guards tried their best to remain impassive as Lance stormed past them and to the gates. 

“My Prince—” they started, but Lance was already hefting the lock up and pushing the gate out. “You can’t—!”

_Wow, this is far heavier than I imagined_ , he huffed internally, digging his heels into the asphalt as he shoved it open. The hinges creaked, and he held it as far as he couldn’t so that Shay and Hunk could pass with his horse. The guards stayed put—they weren’t permitted to touch the Prince. It was one of Allura’s many rules. 

“Thank you, for making this _far_ more difficult than it had to be,” Lance said to them, stepping away from the gate and watching it swing closed.

They were barely gone five minutes before shouting rose up, and the guards had to weakly explain what the Prince had done. But, the Prince and his party were already galloping away, as far as they could with Shay in the lead with Dandelion. From what the guards said, she knew it was foolish of her to side with the Prince, but for Hunk’s sake, she could risk a little adventure. 

She caught sight of the military carriage a half hour from then, after several missed turns and wrong-ways. Certain that it was the one carrying Zarkon’s sons, she backtracked and found Lance and Hunk and the fork in the road where she diverged. They raced to meet her, and she was out of breath as she explained, “I’ve found him. They’re on the road heading south. To Kuron, I imagine. You were right.”

“What are we waiting here for then?” Lance asked, preparing to pass her, but she crossed into his way. A ballsy move, but Lance could respect that, despite how eager he was to keep sight of Keith’s carriage.

“None of us are in riding gear,” she said. “You’ll have a sore bum before we get far. And… if you _truly_ want to risk it… I imagine they’ll be going through bandit territory. They won’t mess with a military carriage, but they’ll be interested. Wait along after it’s passed.”

It meant that they’d get the brunt of most bandit encounters, if they decided to have a chat with them. Lance never encountered a bandit before, but he read stories of them, and news articles, and swallowed hard at the thought that he’d have to deal with them. 

Lance looked at his best friend, who turned pale at the thought. “What… are you suggesting?”

“Bringing my brother, of course,” she said. “We’ll get suited up at my place. We’ll lose time, but we can make up for it by riding in the dark to catch up. And—Prince Lance, you have some skill with a sword, yes?”

“Fencing is a bit more different from swordfighting,” he confessed. “I’m better with a gun.”

“Perfect. We’ll sneak something out of my father’s artillery,” she said. “Now come along, we don’t have much time!”

 

. . .

 

From the Altean Empire’s capitol, it general took a fortnight to travel via carriage to Kuron. During that time, hordes of Captain Kolivan’s men were searching the countryside for Prince Lance’s party. It didn’t take long for them to realize this, and so they took to hiding when they started to catch up. This happened at night, when the military carriage stopped for a short several-hour break before continuing on again. After two nights of this, the Captain’s men caught up, informed the military carriage group to keep a look out for the Prince’s party, and trailed far behind to make their chances of finding the Prince greater. In the process, they wound up stuck between the two groups, just barely within the range of being undetected.

The military carriage crossed the Kuron border during midday, a fortnight from when they left Altea. Rax Crystal, Shay’s eldest brother, led the way to the soldiers at the border. Security was highest now that the threat of the Galra had everyone on their toes. 

The head of the soldiers was equipped with a slip of paper, and as they all approached the woman, her eyes landed on Lance, and turned the paper up to him. It was an image of the Prince. 

“By order of the Empress we’ve been directed to hold you here until the second military party comes to return you to the capitol,” she declared, and took in the party that Lance was with. “The rest of you will give your statements to Her Majesty.”

“I _told you_ this was an awful idea,” Rax hissed at his sister.

“So what if it was!” she cried indignantly as Lance pushed forward, approaching the general. 

The woman produced another slip of paper, this time with the Empress’s wax seal on the front. “From Her Majesty,” she declared. 

Lance knew what was in it before he even opened it, jaw tense and eyes burning. In that moment, he _hated_ his sister. He never disliked her so much as he did right then. He could spend two weeks traveling across the Empire and she wouldn’t bat an eyelash. He was just a _toy_ to her that needed to be put back in its box.

He clenched his fist around the letter and tossed it at the general. “Take me to her,” he demanded, spitting the words with such force that the general looked, back appalled.

“I beg your pardon?” she said.

“Take me to Allura. Where is she,” he hissed. When the general didn’t answer, he insisted with more force, drawing his sword. “What do you think your chances are, _General_? I may not be as good a fighter as you, but if you so much as touch me, the Empress will have your head. I could kill you and all of your men just by telling you to stand still, it won’t hurt a bit.”

“ _Lance_ ,” Hunk hissed.

“Allura will kill all of you if I’m not there,” Lance insisted, jabbing the tip of his sword against the general’s chest. “Read her fucking letter for yourself. I’m _going_ with you all.”

“Will she really?” Shay whispered, looking wide-eyed at Hunk.

“She’s tried killing Hunk before,” Lance replied, retracting the sword and sheathing it. He took the reigns and tested his boundaries. The general didn’t stop him when he surged forward. Lance turned to Shay and said, “Ask him yourself,” before spurring his horse into a gallop. 

 

. . .

 

Empress Allura’s routine was just the same as it was back in Altea, which meant that Shiro knew something was the matter when she didn’t send Pidge to fetch him from his evening walk. She liked to share tea with him after her evening meal, and she was always so punctual when she was around. Arriving in Kuron didn’t change this, or the fact that both he and Keith were never treated like prisoners. However, this time around, they were accompanied by guards again, and watched around every corner to prevent them from possible escape.

_Sure is starting to_ feel _like we’re prisoners after all_ , Shiro hummed, wondering if this was the reason why Allura never sent for him. _Perhaps she’s distancing herself because she knows I’ll be the one killed_.

Shiro accepted his fate the moment the Empress’ troops came to pick him and Keith up to live in the capitol. It was better to accept the worst of his fate than to hope for the best and be sorely disappointed. But… he hadn’t seen Allura in _months_ , and so he asked to see Pidge.

Pidge was dressed in the latest Kuron fashion that was within the boundaries of her status as an imperial servant. With the current state of things, her usual flowing garbs were covering a solid leather corset and shoulder pads that were curved into sharp edges. Her shawl was hooked around her shoulders, and draped over her back like a cape. She looked as if she was ready for war the moment the shawl was dispensed. 

“I hope the journey here was… satisfactory,” she commented.

“More or less,” Shiro confessed. “I didn’t do much packing.”

Pidge laughed and asked what he needed of her. He confessed that he wanted to speak with Empress Allura, and so Pidge reluctantly agreed and turned to lead the way. He noted that the belt around her waist held two short sheaths on her lower back—daggers. The realization startled him. He hadn’t known that Pidge was adept at combat at all.

“You and Keith both seem rather docile from what the guards have told me,” she commented on the walk to the Empress’ quarters. “How are _you_ fairing?”

“Fine. Whatever happens, happens,” Shiro confessed. “I’m more or less worried for Keith’s sake, though. I imagine Lance will bring him back from the dead just to kill him again for leaving.”

Pidge remained quiet, but the humor brought a soft smile to her face. 

She rapped on the Empress’ door before opening it. “You have a guest,” she alerted Allura, but as they stepped inside, the room was empty. “She was just in the bath earlier—she should have been out by now,” Pidge explained to Shiro.

One of the nearby servants informed Pidge that Allura was still in there. “She hasn’t called for us yet, miss,” the girl explained.

Shiro followed after Pidge to the set of doors that separated the bedroom from a short set of stairs leading down to the washroom. She called for the Empress, but there wasn’t a sound in response, so she told Shiro to wait at the top of the stairs before hurrying down to check on Allura. 

Shiro started down the stairs before he even heard Pidge shriek. 

He ran down the remainder of the steps, and skidded into the bathroom, crying, “What is it? What’s happened?” but his questions were distracted by Pidge hauling Allura out of the bath water, sitting up over the surface coughing and sputtering.

“ _Pidge—!_ ” Allura yelled, hand over her heart as she gasped for air. She sounded… _furious_.

“I—You were—I thought you were drowning,” Pidge squeaked, face pale as she looked at Shiro, standing tense in the middle of the bathroom.

Pidge scrambled away from the edge of the tub, picking up a fallen candle, and tossing towels where the water sloshed out. “I’m—I’m so sorry. My apologies—”

Allura cleared her throat, and braced on the edge of the tub. “It’s… fine, Pidge. No apologies.”

She stood from the tub and stepped out onto the towel Pidge laid out for her. Shiro blushed and turned his back, crossing his arms as he realized that he was now facing a mirror that put Allura’s eyes over his shoulder. She was watching him as Pidge dried her. 

“It is I who should be apologizing. I didn’t intend to worry either of you,” she said quietly, and the innocence of her voice had Shiro raising an eyebrow. Since when did Allura ever apologize? “I got carried away.”

They were all quiet for a moment before Pidge stood behind her with a robe and drew it up over her shoulders. She tied the waistband and eyed Shiro once more before dismissing herself up the stairs.

Allura walked across the tiles to where Shiro still stood, eyes on the floor. “Pidge has never walked in on me doing that before. I’m flattered that she acted the way she did,” she confessed with a laugh, reaching a finger up behind her sharp, pointed ear. She scratched at her damp hair a little before facing Shiro, and realizing that he was still pale from the adrenaline sucking up his energy. 

She laid a hand over his cheek fondly and said, “Oh, don’t you worry about me. I do ridiculous things like that once in a while. Helps me relax.”

“What, drowning yourself?” he scoffed, and cleared his throat when he looked at her and found her frowning. “I’m… sorry. I shouldn’t—”

“No, you’re right,” she said, shaking her head. “I do attempt it. More and more frequently it seems. But I would never… I simply push myself to the brink and come back. It reminds me that I’m just as human as the rest of you. It started around the time that we realized that Lance can breathe underwater. We never knew until the two of us had a competition to see who could hold our breaths the longest.”

“Why… would you continue to…?”

“ _Because_ , Shiro… I _am_ as human as the rest of you, which means I don’t have control over everything. If anything, if I can’t control other peoples’ lives, at least I have control over my own,” she said. Shiro studied her crystalline eyes and wondered if she was thinking about her brother now. 

“You have control over everything that matters,” he said. “You have everything you could ever need. You’ve made such progress in such a short amount of time. You’re only twenty-two! Not many emperors can say the same at the peak of their reign. And—Lance loves you and you mean so much to Pidge and Coran—”

“Yes, and what about you?” she said, voice hoarse. The skin around her eyes was turning red, and turning the whites of her eyes glassy. “Do you love me?”

He blinked, startled that she even asked it. What did it matter if he loved her? How could he answer, when it was inevitable that he would die soon? Perhaps not today, but maybe the next. But he couldn’t deny how much he loved her qualities, no matter how perfect or imperfect. It was impossible for him to go back to the way his father ran the Empire, not after getting a glimpse of Allura’s passion for justice.

“I—I think I might, yes,” he confessed softly. “But… I shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Why not? Say it to me, right now,” she demanded, tears collecting on her eyelashes.

“Because it doesn’t matter—”

“If you love me, _say it_ ,” she hissed, and Shiro resisted the urge to comply.

“If my people are to accept you as their sole ruler, you have to let me go,” he said. “And if I say things like that, I’ll be hurting you in the process.”

She fell quiet, and turned away from Shiro to brush her hands over her eyes. It took only a moment for her to return to normal, and to storm towards the stairs. Shiro hurriedly followed after her, saying, “Have you found any way around it? No one’s spoken to me about the decision.”

“I’ve been _thinking_. And with the rebellion executions I don’t have much time for it,” she remarked, and ordered the servant girls to dress her for her meeting that evening. 

“I’ve been thinking as well,” Shiro said, and the weight of it had Allura turning to look at him, dragging the servants along with her as they held out undergarments to her. She stepped into them as she gestured for Shiro to go on. “Have any of the members of the rebellion looked like Keith or I?”

 

. . .

 

By the time Lance and the others arrived at the Kuron capitol, the Empress left for Daibazaal, the Galran homeland. “For the Galra Prince’s execution, my prince,” the ambassador said. 

“Which prince,” Lance hissed.

The ambassador looked to the uncertain general that escorted Lance there. “The… youngest, sir.”

“Shit,” Hunk huffed, hands in his hair. “When did they leave?”

“Just… a half hour before you all arrived,” the man said, looking nervously to the Prince as he said, “Is there… anything we can do for you, my prince? To make your stay comfortable…”

“Nothing at all,” he seethed, turning on his heels to leave the room. “We’re leaving.”

“Lance, you can’t stop an execution,” Hunk insisted. “You know how important this is to stop another uprising!”

“ _Shut up!_ You think I don’t know that?” Lance screamed, stilling the room with his voice. Everyone was staring at him, and even the impassive guards posted at the walls turned to look. “But I would rather be disowned than watch my sister execute Keith.”

Hunk’s breath hitched. “You don’t mean that,” he said, shaking his head.

“I _do_.”

“No… No, no, Lance, c’mon, come back!” Hunk cried, jogging after Lance as his friend took off running out of the room.

Lance’s mind imploded at the mention of Keith being killed. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t do anything except run. He ran to the stables with his entire party chasing after him. He dodged the guards the general commanded to stop him, and soon he was mounting his horse and following the fiery starborne thoroughbred Keith was on. Its tail was flaming and Keith clutched to its blazing mane as he spurred his horse into a fallout gallop. Lance did the same, chasing after him and in the direction of where Allura took Keith. 

Rax, Shay, Hunk, and the general mounted their horses and chased after Lance. All their muscles were sore from riding, and they really shouldn’t have been able to walk at this point, but there was no time to waste. “Shay, you go ahead and try and stop Lance,” Rax commanded.

“Aye aye!” she said, saluting them all and winking at Hunk in the process. If Hunk wasn’t so worried about Lance, he would have had the good sense to blush. 

“Good thing you have a jockey on your team,” the general said, and Rax glared at her, as if the woman was implying something crude. 

Hunk rolled his eyes at Shay’s sister and said with a dreamy sigh, “Yeah, Shay’s incredible…”

“Hey, in case you forgot, all our heads are on stakes until we stop Lance,” Rax said, snapping his fingers at Hunk. “Besides, this is all _your_ fault for indulging the Prince in this.”

“What was I _supposed_ to do!” Hunk cried. “He’s my best friend! He would have gone with or without me.”

Rax scowled at Hunk and nudged his horse to go faster, so he wouldn’t have to see Hunk. Hunk sighed and gave in to the fact that Shay’s brother would forever hate him for putting them through this. Their parents must be in a mess of emotion now without either of their children home, and Hunk knew for a fact that his father would have a fit to hear about this _disaster_.

Unfortunately for all of them, though, Allura’s party was already far ahead, and by the time they met at last, the timing was horrendous. Lance had never set foot in Daibazaal, but he was suddenly categorized as a stranger due to his pointed ears. He realized this after several individuals turned to stare at him. He tugged his hood up, thankful that not many Galrans would recognize him around these parts. Sure, iconography of the Empress spread like wildfire, but Lance was less likely to have a face the people around here memorized.

He slowed his horse and dismounted as the crowds became impassable by horse. He looked up past the heads of strangers to the far, _far_ front of the crowd. The entire Daibazaal capitol square was _packed_ full of people murmuring in distress. The air was depressed, and weighed down by the people worrying their hands together beneath the overarching balcony where Lance’s sister stood, perched at the vantage point directly above the executioner’s noose. She stood alongside a man of great height and power— _Zarkon_.

Allura’s hand rose to silence the crowd. 

“ _Lance_ ,” Hunk’s voice hissed from behind, but Lance’s was too busy trying to stop himself from crying out in frustration. “We’ll never get through this crowd—”

“I know,” he whispered, voice shaking. “I’m too late. I’m too late, Hunk.”

Hunk’s arms fell around Lance’s shoulders, and he held on tight as Lance’s mind and heart shattered. He zoned out through Allura’s speech until he felt Shay’s hand rub circles on his back. The gentleness of it prompted Lance to turn away from Hunk’s chest to face her, eyes red with tears, and heavy from lack of sleep. Shay offered a reassuring smile, and Lance dissolved into tears before he recognized the man being shoved up onto the executioner’s stage. 

They were so far away that all Lance could see was Keith’s long black hair and soldierly build. His mouth was gagged, and his hands were tied behind him. He was forced up onto the stand, and without wasting a second, Allura gave the signal and the noose was secured. 

“No…” Lance started, clasping his hands over his mouth. He couldn’t just _stand there_ when Keith was up there trying to kick the guards off of him. 

He tried to duck out of the noose, but the stand was kicked away. 

The entire square was silent except for the audible _crack!_ of Keith’s neck snapping, and Lance’s scream getting lost in his throat before it could escape. Moans of distress rose up in the crowd, and Zarkon turned away from them all, hands over his face as he tried to leave the stage, but Allura’s guards kept him poised at the front. Allura, however, turned and left without another word, ignoring the sounds of the Keith’s people mourning the loss of their prince, and the fact that when Lance tried to shout, “ _I hate you!_ ” Hunk caught him and slapped his hand over Lance’s mouth to stop him from starting a riot. 

Hunk held onto Lance as the crowds of people stood in the square, and eventually faded. They walked away slowly, feet weighed down like bricks attached to their shoes. The general came to stand close to them, hand on the hilt of her sword as they watched the tears drip from citizens’ cheeks, facing away from the stand and the body that was being dropped from the noose. Lance swore he could hear it hit the stage, and he stilled, and remained where he was for the following half hour as the square cleared out. Guards were going around reassuring people that they should return to their homes. Lance felt his will to speak or move leave him when one of the guards confronted them.

Lance’s general turned to assess Lance’s state before informing the man that she had the prince with her, and that Prince Lance would like to speak with Her Majesty. The guard was Galran, but seemed to take their word for it, though he didn’t recognize Lance entirely. They began to walk, but Hunk couldn’t be moved from where Lance’s hand was stuck in a stone-like grasp on his sleeve. 

Hunk helped Lance onto his horse and guided the horse by the reigns. The Galran guards aided in escorting the other horses away from the capitol square as the prince’s party moved up the steps to the balcony where they last saw Allura and Zarkon. Lance moved by the will of Hunk’s hand guiding him, thinking, _I went all this way and I couldn’t even stop it…_

As they walked the corridor leading to where Allura was, the guard promptly shifted to those among Allura’s Imperial Guard. They recognized Lance in an instant, and the first of them cried, “Prince Lance!” Their heads turned fast, alarmed to find the Empire’s prince outside of the palace. Not all of them were informed of his shenanigans, but now, all they could see was the misery steeling his expression. 

They paused outside of the open throne room door, and Lance’s resolve plummeted. He didn’t want to see his sister. He didn’t want anything to do with her. He was right—he didn’t want to be associated with someone who could hurt him this way. He could already hear her cooing, “Everything will be okay, my sweet boy,” like he was still a _child_ , like Keith was nothing more than a throwaway.

He saw her speaking in low tones to Zarkon before turning to leave altogether. She was securing her gloves over her hands when she looked up and saw Lance’s party in the hall outside of the throne room. 

“Lance?” she said, shocked. Her voice reverberated over the walls of the throne room. 

“I don’t want to talk to her,” he whispered to Hunk, voice shaking. 

Hunk promptly turned him away and into Shay’s arms. Shay’s breath caught in her chest, clutching to Lance as she realized that the Empress was now running towards them. She thought to herself, _Oh gods we’re all going to die_ , but instead of anger, all she saw on Allura’s face was pure anguish. “Lance, wait—”

“He doesn’t want to talk to you right now,” Hunk said, stepping between them. He gestured vaguely for Shay to move Lance away, even as the Empress told them to stop. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I- I stand with Lance on this. Please, don’t make it worse.”

Allura stopped, and Pidge caught up to her. Rax and the general left hesitantly with Lance and Shay, and Allura watched them, wringing her hands in front of her. “Did he… Did he see?” she asked quietly.

Hunk didn’t say anything, but his nod affirmed it. 

Allura glanced back, around her guards to where Zarkon was leaving. In a rush, she took Hunk by the hand and hurried down the hall after Lance. Startled, Hunk could do nothing except follow along. The Empress dragged him down the steps of the capitol square balcony to where her carriage was being brought out. Lance was going to his horse.

“Stop the prince!” she shouted at her guards. “I don’t care—just please get him in my carriage!”

They blinked in surprise, realizing what she meant. At all costs. Shay squeaked from beside Lance as the guards converged on them. 

The general unsheathed her sword. The _shink_ of metal had Allura’s guards hesitating, for not more than a second before drawing their own weapons. Rax looked between all of them before unsheathing his own sword to protect the prince, despite all his loyalty for the Empress. “Shay!” Hunk squeaked, turning to the Empress. “Please don’t hurt them! They’re only trying to protect Lance—”

Allura silenced him, dropping his arm in favor of running to the carriage. She gathered her skirts with Pidge’s help and disappeared behind the passenger door. By then, Shay pulled Lance up on Dandelion behind her. “Hold on tight,” she warned, and they were off in an instant. 

Lance yelped as his bum left the saddle. His feet couldn’t find purchase, and so he was stuck rattling around on the seat behind Shay. He could barely control his limbs, let alone hold on, but Shay clasped a hand over the two he held together over her stomach and shouted, “I’ve got you!” over the wind rushing in their ears. A trail of dust was left behind them, and Allura’s carriage cut through it down the central street of the Daibazaal capitol. 

“What is it, what’s happened?” Shiro demanded inside Allura’s carriage. “Are we being chased after?”

“No, we’re chasing Lance,” she said, glancing around Shiro’s head to see through the front window. She could see Shay’s racehorse disappearing far ahead of them. She settled back in her seat, catching Shiro’s distressed eyes. “He saw. He saw the execution.” 

Against everything Lance’s party knew now, Allura shared the carriage with _both_ sons of Zarkon. Keith sat alongside Shiro, eyes wide in horror. “I have to go after him,” he said. “I’ll be faster on my own horse.”

“The people can _not_ see you. Then it will all have been for naught and we’ll have to have a _real_ execution to avoid pandemonium,” she said, but Keith was untying the sash around his waist. “What are—What are you doing?” she demanded, watching as he used one of his ribbon hair ties to knot his hair back, and then cover his mouth with the red sash. 

“Disguise,” he said, voice muffled by the fabric. “Plenty of people wear buns these days, right? No one will think anything of me.”

Shiro lifted an eyebrow at his brother, and then to Allura, who gave him a look that said, “Is this true?”

“He… _does_ have a point,” Shiro said. “He’d be able to catch up to them if we can sacrifice one of your carriage thoroughbreds.

“They’re no racehorse… but Miss Crystal can’t go _nearly_ as fast with two passengers, especially after riding all this way from Altea,” Allura murmured, and reached over between them to rap her knuckles on the carriage window.

The driver pulled over, Pidge leaned over the front seat to see Keith hopping out of the carriage. “What the hell are you doing!” she cried, but realized that Keith wouldn’t answer her, not with the fabric over his mouth. 

“Give him the fastest horse!” Allura shouted from within the carriage, slamming the door shut after him. She looked at Keith’s brother and shook her head. “I hope to the _gods_ that he can catch Lance.”

The driver and Pidge unlatched the horse from the carriage and pulled the reigns over the horse’s ears for Keith to hold onto. “Bareback, sir? I’m sure I have a saddle in the back of the carriage—” the driver started, but Keith shook his head.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, dropping his voice so it was unrecognizable. “Thank you.”

Keith launched himself up onto the back of the horse by using one of the carriage wheels as a step stool. He was barely on for a second before he was spurring the horse’s side and coaxing it to sprint. It butted its head up before kicking off. Pidge jumped out of the way, and watched Keith disappear in a cloud of dust after Shay and Lance.

Keith was forced to learn horseback riding as a child, and was pushed further in his training to be a soldier. When being a soldier fell through in favor of apprenticing for being a general, he gave up competitive horsemanship for casual, practical riding. But that didn’t mean he lost his skills as a racer. He pushed the horse faster, as fast as he could manage without a saddle. 

He felt his chest burn like the color of Lance’s eyes when he cried and wondered why, suddenly, he was crying. He shoved his eye into his shoulder and rubbed the tears away, but his vision kept blurring. He could see Shay’s horse in the distance, but his vision continued to blur against all his hopes of clearing it away. The wind chilled his damp cheeks and bit into his ears in a whirlwind of color—of the autumn leaves twisting and falling around him. The horse’s hooves crushed against them, kicking them up in a spray of wind. Keith looked back at them and realized that the world was bubbling and increasing in vibrance around him with each passing inch he grew closer and closer to Dandelion.

His thoroughbred’s mane colored beneath him, rippling like water into a burst of yellow light. He recognized the starborne breed, and how as a child he had always wanted one. They were fantastical and unreal, and everything out of legends and children’s books. 

Keith closed in on Shay’s horse, bursting through the waterfall of autumn leaves circling them. He rode up alongside them and screamed, “Stop! Stop your horse!”

When he looked at them then, it was like a mirror was positioned on their other side, reflection the image of Keith back to him. This Keith, though, had his eyes forward, hair down, without a disguise. This Keith turned only to shout something at Lance that sounded a lot like, “Don’t listen to him!”

Lance stared at Keith, who faltered, confused by the illusion before him. Tears were gushing down his cheeks and falling against the breeze. He squeezed onto Shay’s waist and told her to stop, and so Keith skidded his horse to a halt, trotting in front of them a ways. It took a moment for his horse to calm down, and for him to leap off to help Lance off of his horse. 

He tugged the cloth off of his mouth, trying to take Lance by the hand and help him. “Lance, it’s me, I’m here. I’m not dead,” he insisted. 

Lance stared at him, and then to the other Keith, who dismounted and held his arms out for Lance to come to him. Lance swung his leg off of the saddle and dropped onto the other side, and Shay dismounted to face the real Keith. “You’re—You’re not dead?” she asked, but Keith was hurrying around Dandelion to see Lance with his hands clutched to his chest, caught in the other Keith’s arms. 

_This is what Lance sees_ , Keith realized, look up around them at all the vivid color, and stopped to readdress the way Lance looked among it all. 

Lance’s cheeks, though covered in tears, were alight with something _blue_. Markings were pressed into his cheekbones, and along his shoulders, glowing through the fabric of his riding gear. Keith was almost too distracted to realize that the illusion of him was saying, “I’m not here anymore, you have to let me go.”

“No—Lance, Lance, this is me, I’m right here,” Keith insisted, pointing to himself as Lance turned hesitantly towards him. “Yes! Yes, look at me, don’t look at him.”

“What are you talking about?” Shay questioned. Keith held a hand out to her, shaking his head, silently telling her to stay back. 

“No, no you’re not real. You’re dead,” Lance said, shaking his head. “You’re not real!”

“Yes I am! Look, take my hand, feel my chest—my heart is beating,” Keith insisted, reaching for the hands Lance had clasped between him and the illusion.

The illusion shoved his hand into Keith’s shoulder, pushing him away from Lance. Keith was surprised that the hallucination was _tactile_. The force sent Keith staggering back, back into Shay. “What was that?” she asked.

“He’s in a dream—” Keith started, but was interrupted by the illusion pushing him again. Keith dodged him, hands going to his waistband where he usually kept a dagger, but there was nothing. “Do you have a sword?” he asked Shay.

“What? Yes, I do—” she said, but Keith was already taking the pommel of it and thrusting it out of its sheath. 

The illusion of him circled to the left, eyes never leaving Keith as he grabbed the pommel of his own weapon. When he unsheathed the sword, Keith’s eyes went wide and reflected the glare of flames liking up the edges of the steel. Heat flared up from it, too real for comfort, and Keith cursed under his breath, thinking, _Is this guy for real?_

Keith leveled his sword with his doppelgänger. The air stilled, the leaves ceasing their fall, until the illusion let out the first roar and swung his sword at Keith. Their swords collided in a crash, sending the hovering leaves scattering from the area. A clear ring formed around them as Keith parried his sword and ducked to avoid being completely decapitated. Keith looked back at Lance and cried, “Is he usually like this!?” but his question was lost in a scream of terror when the flames swiped in front of his face and scorched his bangs. He could smell the hair burning.

With their proximity, Keith’s sword cut into the illusion’s arm in just a single swipe to the right. The illusion screamed and turned on Keith, roaring, “You don’t deserve him! _You left him!_ ”

“No I didn’t!” Keith yelled, confused. “What are you— _talking about!_ ”

“You’re never there for him— _I’m always there! I’m always with him!_ ” he seethed, the metal of their swords screeching together. “I never leave Lance, and once you’re gone, I’ll be here always. I’ll _always_ be here.”

The heat of his sword glistened Keith’s skin in sweat as he shoved the illusions sword to the side and kicked his leg out. He shoved the illusion in the chest, thrusting him to the ground several paces away. Keith slammed his boot on the illusion’s wrist, twisting the heel of it into into his tendons. The man cried out, releasing the pommel of the sword so Keith could kick it away. “You just seem to be the source of _all_ my problems, don’t you?” Keith hissed, holding the tip of his sword against his doppelgänger’s neck. 

The man craned his head up, pressing Keith’s sword into his throat little by little. A sliver of blood dripped from the curve of his glistening white neck. “I’m the source of Lance’s worries. You think you can take care of his insecurities just by killing me?” he hissed, teeth clenched. His purple eyes flitted between Keith’s.

“No, but I can try,” Keith said, and thrust the blade into the ground, through the raw flesh of his own neck. He never thought he’d ever have to see himself die, but the instant the blade went through, his doppelgänger’s body went up in flames. The light sparked across his body and cast him into a cloud of dense smoke. Keith coughed, waving a hand in front of his face before it disappeared, and the world was back to normal.

Keith dropped the sword, staggering a little from the soreness spreading on the backs of his legs from riding a horse bareback. His arm flared up in pain, and he looked to see that he actually _had_ gotten nicked, if only a little. It was more of a burn mark than anything, and Shay saw it from where she was holding onto Lance. Lance stared at him as he approached, wearily, and smiled as he touched his frayed hair. 

“You never told me he was a hothead,” Keith said, and Lance’s wide eyes were suddenly filled with tears again. 

Lance laughed and rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Haven’t you heard? You are one,” he said. Keith beamed at him, and let him touch his now-damp hand to Keith’s charred hair, and then again to Keith’s cheek and chest, feeling his heart beat behind his ribcage. “You’re… you’re real? How…?”

“Shiro’s idea. Your sister stalling by using the rebellion executions, to see if something better could be done. He suggested finding men in the rebellion who looked like us,” he explained, holding Lance’s hand to his chest. He gave Lance’s fingers a squeeze and said, “It’s me. I’m still here.”

Lance clasped his free hand over his mouth, stepping away from Shay and closer to Keith. Shay let him go, and beamed at the two of them as Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s shoulders, and pressed his cheek into Lance’s hair. Even after two weeks of traveling, minimal washing time, and little to no sleep, Keith loved everything about Lance down to the grimy texture of his hair. His heart ached and beat in time with Lance’s, realizing just how much of a scare he gave Lance, and how much Lance meant to him in return. 

Lance’s tears turned into sobs, breath rasping against Keith’s chest as he said, “I’m sorry, I just—I can’t seem to s-stop crying.” 

“I’m so sorry for worrying you,” Keith said, tightening his arms around Lance’s shoulders. “It won’t happen again— _ever_. Not if I can help it.”

“I love you too much to let you go,” Lance told him, sniffing loudly. 

Keith laughed, and surprised himself by the way his voice broke. He hid his teary eyes against Lance’s hair and said, “I love you, too.”

They weren’t completely out of the capitol, but the roads were empty, all except for the sound of thunder approaching from the direction they came. Keith hefted the cloth back over his mouth and nose, and watched as the Imperial Guards approached, escorting Allura’s carriage. 

The carriage barely rolled up before the door was opening, and the guard who was going to open it for her was instead trampled by Allura scrambling out, yelling, “Lance! Lance, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to worry you you must _loathe_ me and I can understand if you never want to speak to me again but I just wanted to say—”

“You’re right, I am mad at you right now,” Lance said, folding his arms over his chest as he turned to glare at her. He faltered, though, at the devastating look on his sister’s face. His feet fidgeted, and he pursed his lips in annoyance. “ _But_ , I could forgive you… if you pardon the people who came with me here. Including the, uh, the general I roped into all this.”

“Yes! Yes, done. They are all forgiven, despite their acts of _treason_ ,” she all but spat the word, glancing behind her where Hunk seemed to have tagged along in the carriage. Hunk smiled nervously back. 

Lance’s tense frown turned up at the corners, and Allura took the hint. She lunged for him, wrapping him up in her arms with a squeal of excitement. Lance laughed, tucking his face into her shoulder as he said, “I’m glad you thought of me, when it came to your decision about the execution.”

“How could I not? You would never have spoken to me ever again,” she said, and laughed at the thought of it. She rubbed her hand up and down his back before pulling away and saying, “Now, come on—we’ve got to get you back to Kuron so I can have a carriage settled for your trip back home.”

“Aw, so soon? My first vacation in a while…!” Lance whined, taking Keith’s hand as Allura tugged him into the carriage. Keith climbed the steps and dropped down between Lance and Shiro. 

Lance stopped the door from closing to see Shay preparing to mount her horse. “Wouldn’t you like a ride?” he asked.

“Oh, no, I’m fine with Dandelion. I need to speak with my brother anyhow,” she confessed, and waved to them before the guard shut the door and tapped the side of it, signaling for the driver to carry on.

Hunk was always a good conversationalist, despite his nerves of being around the Empress. He inquired about Keith and Shiro’s stay, and shared stories about his journey with Lance, Shay, and Rax. Keith was still in shock from hearing about how Lance climbed off the balcony after him, on top of spending a fortnight on the road with nothing more than what Shay and Rax provided from their own home.

“I will reward them for their efforts to keep you safe,” Allura told Lance, who smiled in response.

“Oh! and then we met General Acxa! Lance threatened to kill her and everyone at the border. I nearly peed myself,” Hunk said, and Lance turned all shades of red as Keith and Allura stared at him in shock.

“You did?” Keith blurted out, and earned a glare in return. “I mean, not that—It just—Doesn’t… seem like you.”

“I was angry,” he bit out, pegging Allura with another glare. His sister pursed her lips and turned to Hunk to ask what happened next.

“She escorted us from the Kuron border to the capitol, and then from the capitol to here,” Hunk said, and sighed in memory of it. “Come to think of it, I wish she’d been with us during those two weeks. I would have slept _far_ better…”

“Is that her name? Acxa?” Lance repeated, and Hunk nodded. “Hm. I never got an introduction.”

“Perhaps because you didn’t _ask_ for one,” Keith scoffed, and grinned when Lance elbowed him in the side. “Too busy threatening her.”

“She seemed to tolerate us,” Hunk said, and looked to Lance for his opinion on the matter.

“I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t paying attention,” he confessed.

“Yeah, you were rather out of it…” Hunk hummed, tapping a finger to his chin. “But she seems nice enough! I don’t think she has a family at all.”

“Most generals don’t,” Keith huffed, crossing his arms. “Unless they’re old fashioned or plan on leaving behind a legacy that doesn’t involve metals and an enemy casualties count.”

“Don’t be so dramatic…” Shiro sighed. 

“It’s true,” he muttered, and leaned over to Lance to whisper, “They’ve also got to be straight.”

Lance snorted and clasped his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Keith grinned cheekily until he caught the Empress’ eye.

The trip back was long, and so Keith and Hunk suggested they swap places with Shay and Rax so that Allura could speak with them on the matter of helping Lance. Keith’s request to leave was denied—who knew how fast news traveled about his execution. The section of the border that took damage and resulted in casualties and a forest fire could be seen on the horizon, where clouds of smoke darkened the sunset. They arrived at the Kuron palace long after dark, and Lance had already taken to sleeping on Keith’s shoulder. He didn’t wake when they stopped, or when every exited the carriage, so Keith was tasked with carrying him out and up the steps. 

Before the servant could show him the way to their quarters, Allura stopped him with a hand on his arm. 

“After you settle Lance in, could you come speak with me?” she asked, and he fought his own exhaustion to nod. “I’ll be in my quarters.”

So, after Lance was tucked in, Keith quietly exited the room and shut the door behind him. He looked up to the servant who would escort him, and found the Captain of the Imperial Guard there instead. “Captain Kolivan! What—I thought you were at the palace,” Keith stammered, surprised to see him.

“I was part of the party searching for Prince Lance’s group, my lord,” he explained. “We all wound up here around the same time.”

“Ah,” Keith said.

“Is the Prince settled in all right?” he asked, and Keith reassured him that Lance was. “Good, I’m glad. Truthfully, if you don’t mind my saying, I was incredibly worried about him when he went missing. I don’t know what I would do if he hadn’t gotten here all right.”

“More or less, anyways,” Keith added, and followed after Kolivan to the Empress’ temporary chambers. “I had a question for you,” he started as they turned down Allura’s corridor.

“I’ll answer as best I can.”

“And I’ve talked to Shiro about this but he’s always given me vague answers because you know how he is. Do you think he’s seeing the Empress? As in… romantically, or whatever.”

Kolivan gestured to the guards to knock on the Empress’ door, and they opened before Kolivan could answer. Empress Allura stood there, and behind her, Keith could see Shiro pushing himself off of the bed to leave. “I suppose that answers your question,” Kolivan commented to Keith. “I’ll be just outside, Your Majesty,” he added to Allura, who nodded and gestured for Keith to come in. 

Keith eyed Allura and his brother warily, stepping to the side as he entered the chambers. Shiro was buttoning his shirt, not a care in the world. A moment of silence passed after the doors shut and Keith said, “Okay, I have to admit—this is a little weird.”

“What’s weird,” Allura said.

Keith gestured between the two of them before putting a hand to his forehead and turning away because he realized that Allura’s robes were partially open and left little to the imagination. She made no attempt to change that, though, and instead said, “I don’t think it is.”

“Keith’s just being ridiculous,” Shiro muttered under his breath as he stepped up to them. “And we haven’t seen each other in several months—so I’ll be back after your meeting.”

Keith half-gagged as Allura said, teasingly, “And who gave you the authority to make those plans?”

He stuck his tongue down his throat when he heard them kiss. Shiro laughed and shoved him in the shoulder on his way out. 

“I see you and Lance kiss all the time,” Allura said. “You don’t hear me _whining_ about it.”

“You’re so generous with yourself—I’ve heard you complain about Lance’s _lover_ plenty of times,” Keith snarked as the door shut behind Shiro. He caught Allura’s glare before turning and pacing away from her. The closer he was, the more danger he felt he was in. 

Distantly, he heard Allura sigh, and when he looked, she had her fingers pinched over the bridge of her nose. “I know we haven’t exactly been the greatest _acquaintances_ , and I’m still _livid_ that Lance decided to fall in love with you, but I can’t change that. And there are _worse_ candidates he could have fallen for,” she said, catching his gaze then before he dropped his eyes to the patterned rug beneath his feet. She stepped closer so that Keith could see her slippers nearing his boots, and then her hand came out to rest on his clenched fist. “I really _do_ appreciate everything you’ve done for Lance.”

“You have a shitty way of showing it,” he said, and cleared his throat. “Sorry—that was inappropriate.”

She turned over his arm, and pulled up his sleeve. He winced as the fabric bunched over the burn on his forearm. Lance’s illusion of him had cut straight through the fabric of his shirt. She exposed the wound inch-by-inch until Keith saw it for what it was for the first time. It was real, and Allura could see it, and this wasn’t just a part of Lance’s fantasies.

“How did you get this?” she asked. “I can have someone look at it.”

“No, no. It doesn’t hurt much,” Keith reassured her, pulling the sleeve back down. “It happened when I caught up with Lance and Shay.”

“And... you _burned_ yourself?” she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Not... intentionally,” he said, wincing. The vagueness of it spiraled him into the explanation of falling into Lance’s world. He tried his best to describe it as Lance never could, because unlike Keith, Lance had never experienced the world as it was to the rest of them. He described the fight with his imaginative counterpart, and finished with, “I don’t think we’ll have to deal with him again.”

“One step at a time, as always,” she said. “This is good, though. I’ve always been worried about Lance’s mental state. Perhaps this will improve the way he sees himself and everyone else.”

“I hope so,” he agreed. “I’ll keep an eye out, though, and let you know if he comes back.”

Allura smiled at him, and Keith believed that it was genuine. “I will try my best to accept you, Keith, but to do so, there is a line that you must never cross.”

“What is it?” he asked. Allura’s acceptance was something Lance fretted over on more than one occasion. Life would be so much easier if she approved of Lance’s choice in Keith.

Allura pulled her hand away from Keith’s arm and said, “Marriage will never be an option for you two.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D I got carried away this weekend.
> 
>  
> 
> [Fight me on Tumblr](http://girlskylark.tumblr.com/)


	2. { how to fuck shit up: a lesson by lance and keith }

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUUUUUUCK THIS WAS THE LONGEST 20K CHAPTER I'VE EVER WRITTEN GODDAMN IT TOOK ALL MONTH BASICALLY. SHIT. GODDAMN. TAKE IT I DON'T WANT IT ANYMORE XD
> 
> My bomb-ass bro, [Mona, drew sicknasty art to keep me motivated!](https://yootyootmonq.tumblr.com/post/168370786836/sketches-i-plan-to-color-of-nymph-lance-from) It got me thinkin about their outfits 'cause they're definitely unique and killer, so you'll see her cape idea come in later :D

Marriage was something Keith gave up a long time ago, and so he didn’t think twice about agreeing with the Empress’ terms when it came to his relationship with Lance. He was satisfied with the way they were—they were as free as they could be, and as in love as they would ever be. And, with the way things were, Lance had already commissioned a interior designer to curate the furniture and art that would be put in their joined room. Keith was getting used to seeing Lance’s designer now and again, and having to force himself to answer questions he couldn’t be bothered with before. They fell along the lines of… Favorite color? Which texture did he like best? Which wood, which marble, which _whatever_.

Keith’s father never talked to him about marriage aside from what was necessary. “I don’t intend to marry you off unless its entirely necessary. But what can’t be won over with war isn’t worth the effort. Marriage is too frivolous a concept these days. Family loyalty is fleeting,” he would say. Fear was better than love in those cases, it seemed.

So imagine Keith’s surprise when Helena Plaxum, Lance’s designer, laid out the question, “I imagine you’d like conjoined rooms.”

“Conjoined?” Lance questioned, pausing in the midst of pouring himself a cup of tea.

Helena stilled herself, glancing at Keith before saying, “Well, if you’re quite serious about this, I’d say you’re looking to upgrade to a marital suite. I’m just… surprised you haven’t looked into it sooner, my prince.”

“Marital suite?” Keith repeated, wondering why, suddenly everything happened to be about marriage. 

“Yes. And it won’t surprise you to know that most married couples have separate rooms and a conjoined living space,” she explained. “When the palace was being built, Allura reserved a section of the floor below her’s to this occasion. The rooms are already made up, it’s just a matter of dressing them with the proper furnishings.”

“We don’t—We don’t need separate rooms? Do we?” Lance squeaked, his sharp ears flattening back as he looked at Keith. Keith shrugged. They shared a room more often now. Keith was starting to forget what his old bed felt like.

“It seems like a waste of space,” he confessed. “And I have no reason to sleep separately from you.”

Lance’s nerves vanished then, and he put a reassured hand over Keith’s.

Helena spared one last glance between them before taking note of the arrangements on her pad of paper. Keith was simply grateful that the conversation of “marital rooms” was cleared from the air. Anything to do with marriage now had the hairs on the back of his neck rising. It felt like the mere mention of it would send Allura upon them in a wave of fury, and Keith would simply accept his fate without batting an eye. 

But, the moment Helena left, Lance walked back into the sitting room with a thoughtful look upon his face.

“Marital rooms…?” he pondered aloud, walking past Keith to one of the window seats. “I wonder if she thought we were getting married.”

“I doubt it—everyone in the Empire would know then,” Keith offered.

“Helena likes to assume things,” he huffed. “But I doubt she’d gossip about anything to do with _you_. Allura had her sign a contract of confidentiality.”

Everything about Keith was like that now. The kitchen staff, the servants, and the guards were already sworn under Allura’s strict rules, but they turned stricter after Keith was supposedly executed in the Daibazaal capitol court for thousands of onlookers to see. As far as anyone knew, Keith was dead for the sake of his peoples’ continued loyalty to Allura. As for everyone in the palace… Well… Let’s just say the risk of losing one’s job now would result in death rather than a sum to merely keep familial secrets within the palace grounds. If word got out about the shadow-show, Allura’s reputation would be harmed, and the people of Daibazaal would likely demand her head over the head of a stranger they passed on as Keith.

Keith hurriedly turned his thoughts to the book he was reading before. He had to stop thinking about all this. He couldn’t get it out of his mind, though, even after rereading the same paragraph over and over again for more minutes than he could count. He snapped the book shut and looked up to find Lance watching him. Lance pointedly turned his eyes to the snow outside the window, but Keith could still see his concerned expression.

“What is it?” Keith asked, standing up from the cushion.

Lance shook his head, saying, “Nothing important.”

Keith crawled up onto the window cushion, leaning up against Lance’s tense shoulder. He took Lance’s hands in his own and kissed his knuckles. He watched for the change in Lance’s expression, and urged the comfort of vulnerability to break Lance’s silence. 

“Well... I guess I was flattered when she implied marriage,” he confessed, and glanced for a moment at Keith before turning away with a groan. “But then you got that look on your face like she just bit your finger off. Wouldn’t you… _want_ to get married?”

Keith couldn’t believe his impeccable misfortune. He hoped that Lance would never mention it, but suddenly he was thinking about it constantly since Allura’s warning, and now Lance was talking about it all the same.

“It... I mean, of course, if that’s what you wanted,” Keith said, “but nothing would change? I guess I just assume that we’d be the same as we always were. Marital ink wouldn’t change that, or rings or bracelets.”

“Wouldn’t it be _fun_ , though?” Lance insisted. “We could have a big celebration and—“

“We both know that isn’t possible. Maybe before we faked my death, but now?” Keith insisted, trying so hard to keep from confessing that these were the joined thoughts of himself and Allura. Marriage with Lance meant publicity, rules, expectations, perhaps even less freedom than they had now. Keith would be thrust into a spotlight that would ruin Allura’s faithful reputation.

Lance gave up on the argument, but it didn’t stop Keith from finding books on the matter every now and again, strewn across the room in secret hiding places. Truthfully, Keith felt guilty for causing Lance to hide his passions because Keith couldn’t talk about it without losing his mind. He found books of marital tattoos under their bed, and wedges between political books on Lance’s sitting room shelves. Lance had them all bookmarked and dotted with notes. He even had flowers picked for the wedding ceremony.

They were well hidden, though, and Keith realized that he was subconscious searching for them. There was no way he would have normally found the invitation sketches Lance adhered to the bottom of their end table. Perhaps Lance realized Keith’s wants and desires more than Keith even did, because he started lying them in obvious places for Keith to read through silently until someone came into the room. It was a fun fantasy, and he wished he could see how Lance viewed it. Maybe then he would be just as obsessed as Lance was with the idea of their very own wedding.

Lance was respectful of Keith’s wishes, though. He didn’t speak of it so long as Keith didn’t inquire first. Their “marital suite” was instead fitted with a study for the two of them to share instead of a room for one of them to have all on their own. The other was a reading room, and they spent an entire week with the palace librarian deciding on what chronicles to include in the collection. 

It was coming together nicely, and Keith was overwhelmed every time he set foot in it. There was a large empty spot in the center room where they were awaiting the bed. The frame was being crafted by an artisan in South Arus, which was a surprise considering bed frames weren’t exactly a common trend in these parts. Lance’s own bed was simply a platform that the mattress sat on. When it was being assembled as the final addition to the room, Lance went to visit Helena as she oversaw the work. 

“Isn’t it lovely?” she asked him. “It came just in this morning.”

“I love it,” Lance confessed, his eyes aglow with excitement. He walked over to where Helena had the comforter and sheets laid out for the servants to work with after the mattress was laid on the frame. They were purple and blended with the faint pattern Lance remembered approving several weeks ago. 

He ran his fingers across the silky texture and smiled over at Helena. “Thank you so much for overseeing all this. It’s an unbelievable help to me.”

“Oh, no need—I’m flattered to be working with you,” she reassured.

That evening, Keith lost sight of Lance, and the guards were unsure of his whereabouts, which he found bizarre and unlikely. Any prying, though, was dismissed or full of long silences that Keith sighed at. So wherever Lance was, he didn’t want Keith to know. That much was certain. He fretted over the reasons why—was Lance upset with him? Perhaps he should have entertained the idea of marriage, if only for a little while and uncommittedly. Allura wouldn’t have to know about that.

_He’s probably bored of me being so disinterested in it_ , he thought. _He’d probably like to have someone who agrees with him on those matters._

Struck with paranoia, Keith hurried out and told the guards to not worry about him, and if Lance came back, to say that he’d be back in a small while.

_I should have just pretended I was okay with it. It’s so easy for me to accept it, but Allura has me worried about the consequences_ , he thought as he searched the palace for Lance. He started to wonder what the chances were that he’d turn a corner and find Lance flirting with Hunk or one of the servants.

_Stop thinking like that—Lance would never cheat on me_ , he rationalized. He felt guilty but no less anxious about the matter as he twisted his hands through his hair and started for the corridor where their suite was being furnished. Lance had been spending a lot of time around there.

Keith approached the set of doors and was so used to finding guards at every door that he nearly mistook them as any other. They were, in fact, Lance’s primary guards, and so there was no mistaking that this was the room Lance was in. Relieved, Keith pushed through, saying, “I’ve been running around the entire palace looking—“

Keith’s voice dropped, and he gasped in surprise as he realized that the entire room was decorated, finished, full of vibrancy and excitement. Walking in there was like experiencing an entirely new realm, and the moonlight flitted through the purple curtains like water. It crested over the bedding, and the white flower petals that Lance strewn across the entire room. They gathered on the floor like snow, and as they fell, they caught in Keith’s hair.

He plucked one from his bangs and realized that he had to be dreaming. They glowed against his fingertips, and—

“Keith!” Lance squeaked from the bathroom doorway. He was barely covered, and Keith looked too late to see much of the lingerie he had on. His robe left little to the imagination, though, especially considering his shoulders and collarbone, and his cheeks and ears were glowing blue from his fantastical markings.

“I have to be dreaming,” Keith murmured, holding a hand to his head.

“What are you doing here? I didn’t send the guards to get you yet!” Lance whined, and slumped into the room with a groan. “I had everything planned...!”

Keith all but floated down the steps in time with the petals as they floated up under his feet. He kicked at them, and they sent a spray of white glitter up. The sound of soft, dainty bells chimes in his ears as he turned to address the wine bottle Lance had on the trunk at the foot of their bed. The moonlight and candlelight sent a beautiful array of colors out from the glass.

“What are you looking at?” Lance huffed, arms crossed dejectedly over his chest. Keith’s eyes fell to his hands, where minuscule markings dotted his fingers and knuckles. 

“These markings...” Keith started, and was alarmed when Lance rolled his eyes.

“Yes, what about them?” he sighed.

“No one ever sees them,” Keith explained. “I’ve... never seen them before.”

“Never?” Lance repeated, his disappointment fading. “What do you mean? They’re always there.”

“No—you don’t have any markings usually,” Keith said. “I must—I’m seeing the world as you do now.”

Their eyes met, and Lance’s blended with an array of beautiful colors—blues and purples, pinks and whites. Keith had never known them to be anything but _blue_. “They’re so beautiful,” Keith whispered, touching his thumbs to Lance’s cheekbones, lightly tugging on the skin to see the extent of Lance’s colors. 

“What are?” Lance asked. Their eyes were so close that he had to flicker between both of Keith’s as they refocused on the situation. Keith pulled back a fraction, lightly running his fingernails against the glowing marks on Lance’s cheeks.

“Your _eyes_. They’re so—I thought they were just _blue_ ,” he confessed, and was satisfied to see Lance’s cheeks bloom pink. The blue markings there flushed with it, settling on a middle hue of both blue and red. “Am I like this? Do I look like this to you?”

“I—Um, no, I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lance confessed, wincing as Keith started to looking for the markings on his own hands, and tugged at his cheeks to find the glowing symbols. “The markings are something nymphs have. I haven’t… _met_ many nymphs before, but that’s how we identify each other. As different from everyone else.”

“Incredible…” Keith gasped, hands following the curve of Lance’s neck and shoulders. He tugged the robe down to see Lance’s collarbone marks, and the ones curved along his shoulders and biceps. 

Lance giggled at all the light touches, and asked if Keith wanted any of the wine he accidentally carried over from when he was inspecting the bottle. Keith followed Lance, hands never leaving the symbols as he watched Lance pour them each a glass. 

“Cheers,” Lance said, clinking their glasses together. The ring of it showed in rivulets through the air—incomprehensible from anything Keith ever saw. The way sound showed itself in Lance’s little world was so different from the way he normally perceived it. It was so difficult to describe the push and pull of the air around the words they spoke. It made everything far more sensory, and Keith realized now why conflict stressed Lance out. Screaming and yelling must have a profound impact on the airwaves, and how they touched Lance’s delicate skin. 

“Lance,” Keith said softly, waiting until Lance lowered the glass from his lips. 

“What is it?” he asked.

“I just—I just wanted you to know that I love you so much,” Keith said, struck by the warmth that feathered through his chest and turned his hands clammy. “I love you so much it hurts and—and I love the way you see the world. I don’t care what anyone else thinks. This is—this is so incredible and so _valid_ I can’t see why nymphs were ever scorned for thinking the way they do.”

Lance’s blue markings were all at once pink and glowing brighter than before. “Really? You think so?” Lance asked. 

“ _Yes_ , I really do,” he said, laughing as Lance pushed a hand over his teary eyes and shook his head. “What is it?”

“I never thought anyone I cared about would get to see the world as I do,” he confessed, sniffing. “All I’ve ever been told is what I should and shouldn’t be seeing.”

“Well, when it comes to that other me, then I totally agree,” Keith said, and Lance laughed. “I never thought I’d be jealous of myself.”

“Don’t be ridiculous…”

“It’s true!” Keith cried. After his execution, he got a glimpse of the world Lance saw everyday, and saw the illusion of himself that Lance mentioned offhandedly from time to time. The illusion of Keith was the source of Lance’s insomnia, and the majority of his anxiety and insecurities. Since then, Lance’s mental state had improved, but there was still much work to be done.

Just as Keith was so sure they would kiss, something distracted Keith despite the eagerness on Lance’s face prompting him to lean forward and forget the world around them. Keith looked up to the sound, and searched for it just as Lance realized what he was searching for. 

“I… was just thinking of a concert Allura and I went to two years ago,” he all but whispered, cheeks pink with embarrassment. “I do that sometimes…”

“Gods, you’re perfect,” Keith breathed against his lips before closing the distance entirely.

Everything he felt was amplified tenfold, and it sent Keith into an excited tizzy. Lance urgently took their glasses after Keith took one last sip and pushed them onto the end table. Even just those few seconds separated had Keith yearning again As Lance backed him into the edge of the mattress, his chest shook with the effort to keep his breathing in chest. He was out of breath—he was out of his _mind_ with lust as his emotions flirted with Lance’s, and blended their desires into one long, sensual, wet kiss. 

Keith hit the mattress hot and needy, preening underneath the cool touch of Lance’s hands exposing his chest to the air. Lance pushed his shirt off completely, tearing it out from his trousers and pulling at Keith’s waistband. The belt came loose. 

Lance tugged his robe up his thighs, pressing back in Keith’s lap so he could feel the lace and silk and curse under his breath. “Fuck— _Fuck_ , Lance,” he panted, trying feebly to push himself up.

Lance laid a hand on his bare, exposed chest. His markings were draining blue, filling with rich, bloody red. He hushed Keith with a coy smile, and Keith turned hard at the confident grin Lance’s nymphal instincts gave him. “How do you want it?” he purred, undoing the clasps on Keith’s pants before ripping them open. 

Keith’s breath came out shaky, and he knew his voice would be _wrecked_ the moment he decided to say anything. His mind went back to the day they were playing chess, and as soon as it did, Lance looked up into his eyes and registered the same exact detail Keith was focusing on. Lance’s confidence wavered to raise an eyebrow at Keith and say, “ _Really?_ Are you sure?” 

“I—Well, that was me thinking it, wasn’t it?” Keith said, having to clear his throat and try helplessly to cover up the fact that he was so terribly turned on. 

“Yes, but—I mean, I’ve _never_ …” Lance started, shaking his head and repeating, “Are you sure? Absolutely positively—”

“ _Yes_ , gods, Lance, just fuck me,” Keith demanded, pulling Lance by the edge of his open robe, onto the bed where they wouldn’t leave for the next half hour as Lance memorized the shape of Keith’s body with his lips. 

Kissing Keith was Lance’s favorite pastime, and he loved every moment Keith entertained it. Tonight was dedicated to showing Keith just how much Lance loved him, and how he treasured every moment they spent together. Lance desperately wanted everything to do with making love to Keith that he couldn’t be bothered to let his nerves overcome him.

 

. . .

 

The magic of Lance’s world faded shortly after they collapsed together on the bed for a restful sleep. One moment the petals filled the air, and the next Keith was looking at the mural on the ceiling, duller than it was before. The night was dark again, no longer doused in moonlight, but he could still see Lance’s precious eyes staring back at him.

“Do you mind if I say something?” he asked quietly. Keith whispered for him to say it, but Lance turned bashful and looked down at where his fingers were drawing lazy circles around Keith’s stomach.

“What is it?” Keith asked, voice hushed. If he spoke any louder, it felt like everyone in the world could hear them.

“I’m afraid you’ll be angry with me,” he confessed, rubbing the heel of his palm over his eyes with a sigh. “And I know it’s ridiculous. But I’m going to ask Allura if we could… possibly marry?”

Keith’s heart sank through the back of his ribcage. He felt it slip straight through the bones, he _swore_ it. He turned away with a sigh, and grimaced when Lance pushed himself up onto his elbows.

“Why are you acting like this? I _know_ you want to! You want to, don’t you?” Lance cried, shaking Keith by the arm.

“I—Lance, I can’t talk about this,” he said, trying to shake Lance’s hands off. He was afraid to raise his voice or say something wrong. Unfortunately, he already had.

“I know that this isn’t life or death or anything like that, but—but…” Lance hesitated, voice quivering dangerously close to tears. Keith looked and regretted it, because the last thing he wanted to see was Lance crying over this. Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath, saying, “I want to call myself your husband, Keith. And that sounds silly and childish but I _do_. And I _know_ you do, too. I know it, Keith. So why won’t you talk about it?”

Keith inhaled deeply, and tried unsuccessfully to pull Lance back onto the bed. Lance gave Keith a stern look, and so Keith forced himself to sit up, covering his modesty with the comforter. 

“You’re right, I _do_. I think it’d be a lot of fun and I never thought I’d get something like this,” he confessed, looking anywhere but Lance. “I sort of gave up on the idea of marriage a while ago. And… I just don’t think it’s necessary anymore.”

“I wish you didn’t have to give up on it,” Lance said, tugging on Keith’s hands. “Would you… be entirely against me going to Allura with this?” he asked.

Keith looked down at their intertwined fingers and pursed his lips. _Don’t say it, don’t say it_.

“I am—” _Fuck_ “—because she’s already talked with me about it.”

When he looked up in Lance’s silence, he realized, painfully, that Lance wasn’t at all surprised. “What did she say,” he asked calmly, tipping his chin up like the prince he was. Peering down at the guilt ridden Keith before him.

“Lance…” Keith sighed, rolling his eyes.

“I want to know.”

“It’s not—It’s not _unreasonable_ , what she’s asking,” Keith insisted. “It’s not even that she doesn’t _like_ me at this point. It’s not about that, and I’ve already told you part of it.”

“Which part?”

“The part where I’m supposed to be dead. I’m supposed to be _dead_ Lance. People can’t know that you’re marrying me,” Keith said. “And… and on top of that, Allura doesn’t have time to worry about this. Not when she has an entire Empire to run. If anything… If anything, even if I hadn’t technically died, I’m a second son. From _Daibazaal_. My father doesn’t exactly have the greatest reputation in the Empire.”

“I don’t care about reputation, I care about you,” Lance insisted. “If Allura doesn’t want us to be married then—then she doesn’t exactly have a say anyways! This is between us, not her.”

“It does involve her because she’s your family, Lance. You can’t change that,” he said.

“I could just be us, though!” Lance all but cried, shaking Keith’s arm. “Even if we’re the only ones who know about it, I wouldn’t care! We could—we could _run off_ and- and—“

Keith laughed a little as Lance worked himself up into a tizzy. “I saw that book you were reading. About how Empress Marmora married young against her parents’ wishes.”

“I’ve been planning this, alright?” Lance muttered, and flopped back with his arms over his eyes. “I’m going to talk to Allura.”

“Seems as though I can’t stop you,” Keith said, settling in beside Lance. Keith nestled his head against Lance’s shoulder, and as they drifted closer and closer in the night, he woke up with his head on Lance’s chest, and his legs tangled around Lance’s. The winter cold outside drove them beneath the covers at some point, and so they awoke cocooned in the warmth of each other’s arms.

Keith stretched his arms high over his head and regretted it. It was bitter cold outside of the blanket, and so he curled back underneath the covers, and huddled against Lance. This was how Lance’s servant found them, and continued to find them throughout the day, nestled together on their new bed long into the afternoon. It was impossible for them to leave the comfort of warmth, but Keith knew that they’d have to give the servant the chance to change the sheets anyways. 

They bundled up in the comforter and rolled off the bed as gracefully as they could. The girl followed after them, listening to Keith groan when Lance dropped on top of him. “Are you two all right?” she asked.

“Perfectly so!” Lance grunted. “We’ll just be laying here for a bit…”

“We should probably move further away,” Keith suggested, and so he hugged Lance to his chest and started to roll. When the blanket started to unravel from their distance, the girl tossed it over them again, and kept that up until they tipped against one of the nearby couches.

At some point, long after the bed was made and after Keith pulled Lance up onto the couch, the servant reassured Shiro that the coast was relatively clear. It didn’t change the fact that Keith and Lance were still very much underdressed, but it wasn’t like the servant would now that considering they were wrapped up in the comforter. Lance snuggled between Keith’s legs as Shiro stepped into the room and whistled at the sight of their new room.

“This is impressive. How are you two liking it?” he asked, ducking down to inspect a miniature golden sculpture of an ancient nymphal figure in Lance’s favorite legend. 

“I love it. I haven’t had the chance to investigate everything yet, though,” Keith confessed. “Too busy snuggling.”

Shiro looked up to smirk at Keith, as if _knowing_ that snuggling wasn’t all they did last night. Keith scowled at him. “What are you doing here anyways?” he asked.

Shiro crossed the room and took to sitting on the edge of the table, closest to them. “I actually came here on behalf of the Empress. She was worried when Lance missed lunch with her.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Lance moaned against Keith’s chest. “I completely forgot about that.”

“Is… Lance in there?” Shiro said, and Keith realized that it was kind of difficult to tell if Lance was Lance, or just a big pile of blankets over Keith. 

“More or less,” Keith replied. 

“Oh. Well, the Empress suggested supper with just the two of you to make up for it,” Shiro said, leaning over to catch a glimpse of Lance, but he was completely hidden underneath the purple comforter.

“I don’t want to…” Lance sighed, thinking about how awfully angry he was with her. He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep the glare off of his face if he saw her today. The emotions were still raw, and would be for at least a week before rational thought came through. 

“Perhaps… maybe it could be with the four of us?” Keith suggested, wondering if that might improve the matter. If Lance didn’t have to talk to Allura alone, then it might be easier to cope with the situation with Keith and Shiro as a buffer.

“I could ask her,” Shiro said. “I don’t think she’d be entirely opposed to it.”

Before Lance could disagree with this entire plan, Shiro stood up and dismissed himself in favor of informing Allura of the change of plans. In less than an hour, the plans were confirmed, and Lance was forced to his feet to change for the meal. He didn’t smile or frown until he was turned away from the mirror and allowed back into the main room where Keith was waiting for him. 

Lance’s breath was lost in his throat for a moment, unable to escape when all he wanted was to hold it in and never let this image of Keith go. The movement of rooms changed all of the articles in Keith’s wardrobe into those suited for the man he was now. He wasn’t a prince anymore, but with his position beside Lance…

“Holy shit,” Lance breathed, and Keith turned at the sound of it.

His freckled cheeks turned dark, his scowl bunching up as he spat, “This isn’t _funny_. Is this your sister’s doing?”

“White looks good on you.”

“Really? Is that all you can say to this?” Keith huffed, turning his eyes up to the ceiling with a pained groan. Lance was certain he'd be complaining more about this if Keith had a chance to explore the room before they got distracted the night before.

Keith was wearing the high-collared dressings of a silver-clothed concubine. It was well-fitted and straightened his shoulders, making them broader and complimenting his overall build. A transparent dappled shall fell around his shoulders, unpinned and needing to be tamed.

Lance walked up to him, cheeks pink as he tugged at the fabric and held it up to Keith’s shoulder. He reached his hand out to the servant who dressed Keith, who stammered out, “He—My apologies, sir, but my lord wouldn’t let me—”

“I can take care of it,” Lance insisted, smiling as Keith shared a glare between them. The metal pin was pressed onto Lance’s fingers, and he clipped the shall in place despite Keith’s distaste of it. “You look beautiful.”

“I may not be Altean, but I know what this means to you,” Keith huffed. “This is ridiculous.”

“It’s not ridiculous…”

“I’m your prisoner. That’s what this means, doesn’t it?” he remarked, and Lance’s hands faltered. “We have sex, I can never leave—at least not reasonably—so is that what this means to you?”

Lance nearly dropped his hands in shock, and quickly grabbed hold of Keith’s sleeves as he shook his head, insisting, “ _No_ , none of this could—How could you think that?”

“Clearly someone does if they put this in my wardrobe,” he hissed, tearing the fabric out of the pin. He threw the shall to the side, but it was connected to his opposite sleeve, and merely hung from his arm like shimmering water. 

“I love you, Keith—”

“I’m am _not_ your whore. Do not dress me like one,” he seethed, grabbing at the fabric again and ripping it from the sleeve. The fabric ripped and flew in rivulets when Keith threw it at the ground. 

Keith hurried away from Lance, hands going to his face and through his hair as Lance picked up the shall and raced after him. “Keith, I never would have—I didn’t do this!”

“Yes, but you like it, don’t you?” Keith snapped, turning on him. His voice had rose without his permission, and the look on Lance’s face told him as much. He checked his volume as he slapped the shall out of Lance’s hands and said as calmly as he could, “I’m not going to dinner tonight. Tell your sister to go fuck herself for me. Let me know if Shiro and I have matching outfits now, because clearly that’s all we are to you two.”

“I don’t see you like this, Keith, you’re so much more than that to me! Keith, come back, please?” Lance cried, shoulders slumping as he watched Keith disappear into the study and slam the doors behind him. Distantly, he heard the door lock. 

Just as Lance was about to chase after Keith and demand he unlock the door, a knock came from the main entryway. Lance glanced over his shoulder at Pidge and sighed. “Her Majesty sent me to fetch you two,” she said. “She’s been waiting several minutes now.”

“Right, I’m sorry,” Lance said. “I… I don’t think Keith will be joining us after all.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that. Is… he okay?” she asked as Lance started towards the exit.

“No. No, he isn’t,” he said, letting out a shaky breath. “I have more than one thing to discuss with my sister now, that’s for sure. Lead the way.”

 

. . .

 

“Oh, please, Lance, this isn’t an issue. If anything I’d say his status is improved since last time. He’s no longer the prince of a nation who opposed me,” Allura insisted before pressing the edge of her wine glass to her lips. 

As she drank, Lance clutched his hands against the napkin on his lap and looked at Shiro. Unlike Keith, Shiro was still dressed like the prince he was, still in line to inherit his father’s position. The news of Keith’s “status change” was news to them all. All except Allura, and quite possibly Coran. 

“I’m sure you find this _hilarious_ ,” Lance hissed at her. “But I can assure you that Keith and I both do not find this amusing.”

“Keith being your escort is nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, it’s far more acceptable of a position, and suitable for your current relationship,” she said.

“He _isn’t_ a prostitute, Allura. I love him,” Lance bit out.

“Anyone can fall in love with a prostitute. Don’t make it sound like you’re so special,” she remarked, and Lance nearly lunged out of his seat before Shiro interrupted them.

“I… do think that this is rather inappropriate,” he said, speaking hesitantly as he caught Allura’s eye. “He is my brother, after all, regardless of whether or not he’s ‘dead’. And regardless of what you say, in our culture this isn’t at all a compliment.”

“You cannot force our views onto them like you do your rule,” Lance said, and found no regret in using that tone with his sister. 

Allura’s jaw dropped, completely disregarding what Shiro said in favor of sneering at Lance, “You _dare_ accuse me of something as insufferable of cultural apathy?”

“Keith is—”

“As far as anyone is concerned, Keith is nothing right now,” she said, voice raising as she stood, leaning over the table. “Keith is just as nonexistent as his previous status. He was nothing more than a ghost until now. I cannot allow you to walk out with someone who has no social standing at this moment! This is the best outcome Coran and I could think of.”

“And you did it without consulting either of is,” Lance said, rising to match her in height and volume. “I’m sure you’re just _dying_ to finalize this so marriage would never be an option between us. The Empire’s prince married to a _concubine—_ ”

Allura lashed out, hand swinging to clap against Lance’s cheek.

“ _Never_ talk like that to me,” she hissed, pulling at his chin before he could nurture his inflamed cheek. “I’m thinking only _of you_. This is the best option. Keith will be able to _stay with you_ , _live with you_ , and be everything like a husband to you without the title of one. Do you understand me?”

Lance shoved her hands off of his face, eyes glistening as he clutched at his cheeks and seethed, “ _No!_ No, I don’t understand you! Keith means more to me than—”

“I know he does, but the public cannot know this. They cannot even know his name,” she said, leaning back as she looked down at her hands. With a sigh, she lowered herself back into her chair. “And unfortunately we cannot rule out certain situations that would complicate any marriage you could have had with Keith.”

She drank from her glass again, her frown lines setting in as she watched Lance process what, exactly, she meant by it. Mortification dawned on Lance’s face, his hands clutching over his mouth as he staggered away from the table. Turning, he all but ran out the door, and Allura did nothing to stop him. The thought of it horrified her as well.

“What do you mean by that?” Shiro said. “You wouldn’t possibly marry Lance off. I don’t believe you. I just don’t.”

“ _I_ wouldn’t, but sometimes I can’t control these things. Coran always told me that Lance would likely be used as a fail-safe if war against another nation falls through. If our military isn’t enough to secure world peace, then perhaps marriage will be,” she said. “So much for a relaxing dinner. I’m no longer hungry.”

As she left, she told Pidge to apologize to the chef for not making it through the meal.

As she retired to her chambers, Lance stormed into his and Keith’s room and hissed at the guards, “Don’t let anyone in here,” before slamming the doors. He went to the study, and called out Keith’s name as he searched the rooms before coming back and hurrying to the studio. Keith was nowhere to be found, at least, not until Lance checked the balcony and found Keith bundled up in a blanket out in the cold.

“Gods, Keith, what are you doing out here? It’s freezing,” Lance cried, tugging on Keith’s hand and dragging him back inside. He closed and locked the balcony door, and clutched and Keith’s frozen fingers, urging them back to health.

“You’re back early,” Keith whispered, perhaps to keep his teeth from clacking together. 

“Yeah, and I’m glad I ditched or else you’d be a popsicle,” Lance said.

“What’s the matter? You look flustered,” Keith said. “Is it because of our fight? I’m sorry I broke down like that, I don’t know what came over me.”

“No, you were right. I should have taken your background into consideration before acting like that. I shouldn’t—I shouldn’t have assumed you’d be okay with it,” Lance insisted, shaking his head. “Allura didn’t think either when she decided on this. _Gods_ , I would wring her neck right now if she wasn’t my sister!”

“Shit, what’s gotten into you? I’ve never seen you so angry before,” Keith commented, hugging his arms around him stomach. 

Lance dragged his hands through his hair so that his brown locks stood up from all sides. “She’s- She’s—She’s being so _unreasonable!_ I can’t _stand it!_ I never thought she’d go this far but she _has_ and she refuses to see reason!” he cried. “I don’t—I don’t think she’ll reconsider your status, Keith, she and Coran have already set their minds to it.”

“You talked about that with her?” Keith said, raising an eyebrow as Lance grabbed him by the hand and started dragging him to Lance’s designated closet. “What did she say?”

“I don’t care. We just—” Lance stopped, staring at all of his clothes before his eyes drifted upwards. 

High above them, on one of the top, top shelves sat Lance’s suitcases. 

“Hey, you remember when I wanted to take you to Arus?” Lance started, looking back down to where Keith’s mind was catching up, and his surprise was replaced with excitement.

“Yeah, I drew up an itinerary. I still have the map and everything.”

“Let’s go, just the two of us,” Lance said, beaming the instant he knew that Keith was shedding his insecurities about it. This entire situation with his status change dissolved his reservations.

“How will we escape the palace grounds?” Keith asked, and as they formulated ideas, Keith hefted Lance up high to grab the suitcases and begin packing the necessities.

They bagged enough gold to get them a round trip by ship, along with enough for food and overnight rooms. They’d stay with Lance’s friend in the Arusian palace, the son who gave him an intimate tour of the land—not that Keith needed to know that… but Lance was still on good terms with the man. They’d be able to stay without Allura hearing a word about their whereabouts.

That is… if they managed to escape the palace unseen.

“We can’t take the main entrance,” Keith said, “so do you know of any weak-points in the security?”

“Kolivan is pretty vigilant about the border security… but we might be able to escape on a canoe.”

“A _canoe?_ ” 

Keith had never used a canoe, let alone _paddled_ before. Thankfully, Lance’s nymphal skills were able to assist. With the adrenaline of escaping in the dead of night, his elemental powers were stronger than ever when they blended with the light of the moon. He cast a mirage over them that covered the boat in the glare on the water, so that when they passed the border patrol on the beach, they were nothing more than a shimmer on the waves. 

Keith’s father sent him off with a bit of coin that was unnecessary, considering the Empress provided for everything Keith needed. They used the gold at the docks to buy them a safe journey to Arus, and also keep the crew members mouth shut about the hooded figure he brought with him. In the storage room on the ship, Lance pulled his disguise off and beamed up at Keith, who was simply relieved that they made it this far without trouble.

They kissed, and fell asleep among the crates until morning, when they awoke. Lance remained under the deck while Keith went up and ate with the crew, and brought food down for Lance’s breakfast. “They say that if the wind keeps up, the journey will be cut by an entire two days. We should be there before long,” Keith reassured Lance. “Until then, we should probably stay out of their way. We don’t want to cause a scene.”

So, for the duration of their journey overseas, Lance and Keith stuck together in the belly of the trade ship. They spent most of their time talking about miscellaneous things, napping, sleeping, and discussing the itinerary. On the second day, Lance made up his mind and took a pen to the first order on the list. They spent the entire day discussing the changes before coming to an agreement.

Keith was their main mode of communication with the upper decks, and their main means of fetching food. The crew members didn’t ask about who Keith was harboring, and didn’t ask questions about Keith’s whereabouts. Thankfully, the Galra weren’t so famous around Altea, and so his features were unrecognizable as anyone they’d ever met before. 

Lance would have gone stir crazy had they not been on the ocean. His dreams were filled with ocean water, sinking deep below the ship where he swam among the sea creatures. His fingers curved over the backs of sharks and whales, and he breached the water with the dolphins. He carried the wind on his back and projected himself high above the ship, where he could see the coast of Altea as it stood in relation to Arus. 

“We’re almost there…” he whispered, breaking out of his slumber to rouse Keith. “We’re almost there. We’ll be docking soon.”

Keith went along with it, and sure enough, one of the crew members came down to inform them no more than two hours later that they would be arriving in no time at all. They escaped the darkness of the ship’s belly, and were on the streets of Arus by midday.

As they first emerged, Keith staggered to a halt on the docks, peering up beyond the sails of neighboring ships. Lance looked up past his hood to the rocky coastline. The bluffs were made of pure white rocks, and the city itself was speckled with red rooftops and adobe facades.

Keith clasped a hand over his mouth as he listened to the seagulls fly by. “This is…”

“Incredible?” Lance offered, holding on tight to Keith’s hand as he urged Keith to keep moving. They had so much to see as it was.

The sky was completely clear as they carried their bags through the middle of the capitol city. They used the palace as their compass, and wove through the streets with their eyes alight with excitement. They stopped at several venders and ate native food for lunch, and exotic food for dinner. They didn’t reach the palace until nightfall.

The palace was separated from the city by a long stone bridge over a river that fed into the ocean. Lance fished out his wax-sealed letter from his bags and passed it to one of the guards, saying, “This is for King Lotor. It’s urgent and confidential.”

The guards raised an eyebrow at Lance’s hooded figure and shared an uncertain look with one another. They passed the letter onto one of their squires, and reassured Lance that the letter would be delivered as soon as possible. 

They waited out by the gates for a long while before the squire came running back with a peculiar girl dressed in all black except for her shockingly pink hair. 

She hurried up to the guards and waved them off, gesturing for Lance and Keith to step through. Thankfully, she was following all the orders Lance listed in the letter. Not to shout out his name to the world.

Once they were behind palace doors, the girl urgently bowed to Lance and said, “It’s so nice to see you again, my prince.”

“It’s lovely to see you, too, Ezor. Keith, this is Lotor’s advisor, Ezor.”

“I’ve heard so much about you, my lord,” she said to Keith as she bowed to him. 

“You have?” he blurted out, raising an eyebrow at Lance.

Lance turned pink and said, “Lotor and I… exchange letters every now and then.”

Ezor took the lead and gestured for them to follow as Keith leaned over and whispered, “Should I be worried?”

Lance kissed Keith’s cheek and gave him a playful bite on the ear before whispering back, “I don’t think so.”

Keith laughed and swapped his bag over his other shoulder so he could wrap his arm around Lance. They walked through the sleek white corridors and the marble floors, passing rooms framed by columns and elaborate paintings, and walls dressed with handwoven tapestries. They passed sitting room after reading room before Ezor knocked on a guarded door and entered, trailing Keith and Lance behind her.

“Your visitors are here to see you,” she announced, and it was followed by listing Lance’s name and titles, and ending with, “And… Keith, sir.”

Keith’s eyes widened as he watched the man rise from his seat. The _King_ of _Arus_. Despite Empress Allura’s rule, she left kingdoms as they were, implementing widespread laws that banned slavery and anything that might harm her vision of peace. So long as previous rulers obtained from unworthy acts, they could maintain their previous rule beside her own. Kings and Queens were not abolished, by any means.

So… people like King Lotor remained where they were, on their perfect pedestals. This man, though, wasn’t any older than Keith or Lance.

He was a masterpiece. 

Keith swore he’d never seen anyone as perfectly stunning as King Lotor. His jaw dropped at the length of that man’s pure white hair, and how he had it braided over one broad shoulder so it didn’t obstruct from his beautiful facial features. His eyes were sharp and smooth—a signature look of the Galra, along with the fact that King Lotor’s nose was slightly flatter, and his overall structure was similar as well. There were some differences, though, which provided Keith with the reassurance that not _all_ of Lotor was Galran.

He sucked in a sharp breath as Lotor stepped towards them. Both Keith and Lance tipped their heads back to look up into the man’s eyes as he reached forward. He placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder before pulling him in for a hug.

“It’s been too long, my friend. I wish we could have visited one another sooner,” he said.

Lance’s eyes met Keith’s, wide and more or less conveying the fact that neither of them were expecting Lotor to look as good as he was now. “It has been a while… you’ve… you’ve _changed_ so much,” Lance said, voice cracking as Lotor released him with a laugh.

“Oh, yes, shortly after my mother passed away, I suddenly went through this… _growth spurt_. I imagine it was something from my Galra side. And… as I can see you’ve found yourself a _full-fledged_ Galra. Keith, is it?” Lotor said, reaching a hand out to shake Keith’s.

Keith had to clear his throat several times before saying, “Uh, yes, I… can’t say I’ve heard much about you. When did—When did you two meet?” 

Lance squeaked as Lotor threw his head back laughing. He nudged Lance’s shoulder and said, “You never told your lover about me! How sad! I’d be hurt if I never saw Keith’s beauty for myself. Ezor, would you mind closing the doors?”

“Not at all,” she said, shutting them in so that Lotor could continue.

“Keith, son of Zarkon, you truly do live up to the expectations,” Lotor said, crossing his arms as he studied Keith up and down before making his conclusion. “Most Beautiful Man Alive. I don’t stand a chance in comparison. You’ve done well for yourself, Lance, I have to say.”

“I- Um, thanks—I mean, yes, I have. Well, I mean, I guess,” Lance sputtered, scratching at his hair as Keith snorted and laughed aloud before he could stop himself. 

“You have a taste then,” Keith said, still laughing. “Beautiful Galra.”

“I’ll take that compliment,” Lotor said, winking at them before turning back to take a seat at one of the couches. Keith followed after him, grinning like a maniac as Lance’s face turned bright red. “Just within these past few minutes I’ve had to cope with the fact that you are actually alive. How is that?” Lance tuned back in as Lotor asked this of Keith.

“It’s… a long story,” Keith confessed, looking back at Lance as he took a seat. He reached a hand out, gesturing for Lance to come nearer to tell the story. 

The three of them sat together and talked over the events that led to Lance embarking on a two week journey to save Keith from probable death. Lotor was enraptured, completely consumed by the sound of Lance’s elegant voice, and the tale he was telling. Ezor listened in as well, standing off to the side where she smiled whenever Keith looked over at her. Lotor’s attention turned grim as Lance moved on to the situation they had with Allura earlier that week, and how she was the main reason why they could be found harboring a royal concubine suit in Keith’s bag.

“Well… I can assure you that we could provide proper apparel for you, Keith,” Lotor declared, though he didn’t seem all that disturbed by the notion. Keith realized that Arus was almost perfectly in line with Altean ideals. It wouldn’t be all that surprising to find that Lotor had his own partners dressed in Arusian escort fashions.

“I would appreciate that, thank you,” he said, and glanced to Lance. The significance of his look led Lance to reach into his bag and pull out the itinerary. “We were… actually hoping that you could help us with something while we were here that regards this.”

“Well, _partially_ regards this, anyways,” Lance said, and offered an innocent smile as he showed the sheet of parchment to Lotor. 

Lotor took it and stopped instantly at the first order on the list. He looked up and stared at them, eyes wide. “I—Are you certain of this? Didn’t you say…”

“I know Allura forbids it, but… truthfully, she loves you, Lotor, and… I know you have the power to do this. I’ll ensure no harm comes to you. And you know how she trusts your judgement,” Lance insisted, his hand clasping so tightly to Keith’s that his fingers turned numb.

Their hopeful expressions led Lotor to look down at the paper again for a good minute or two. He stood up and walked away, but their eyes followed him until he told Ezor to meet him out in the corridor. They spoke behind the closed doors, and Keith turned worriedly to Lance.

“You don’t think he’d tell Allura, do you?” he asked quietly.

“No. No, he wouldn’t. At least, I _hope_ he wouldn’t…” Lance confessed, and they both turned to watch the door until it opened once more.

Lotor stepped back in, running a hand over his long braid. Keith recalled, suddenly, his many history lessons, and how he knew exactly why Lotor’s hair was as long as it was. Lotor wasn’t raised by the Galra—he was Arusian, and so he followed their customs that prompted royalty to only cut their hair in times of war. Arus wasn’t conquered by force—they made an alliance with Empress Allura so that war wasn’t necessary. Lotor never once cut his hair, even as a child, or in his adolescence, because his mother never caused reason for war. 

Keith suddenly worried that the outcome of his marriage to Lance might lead to Lotor’s long locks being cut under the ruthless gaze of Lance’s sister.

“I’ll do it,” Lotor promised, and with a shaky sigh he confessed, “and if you wish for this to be unbreakable and legitimate, my name will be going on your marriage certificate. The Empress will know of this.”

“Yes, and I’ll do all I can to make sure that none of the blame falls on you,” Lance said, jumping up to his feet. His hand was still linked to Keith’s, and so Keith wound up following suit.

They stood together in the face of Lotor’s reluctant agreement. “I do hope you will try your best. Your sister’s approval means much to me,” he said. “Now, when will this be happening?”

“Right now,” Lance blurted, and his exclamation had Keith laughing. “I… I mean, as soon as possible!”

Keith slapped a hand over his face, grinning like the lovesick idiot he was. Lance would be the death of him, he was sure of it, but for now… he couldn’t find a reason to care. Not when their future involved being husbands.

Lance didn’t bring everything with him, but he remembered the tattoos as if he made them himself. Lotor, Keith, and Ezor watched over Lance as he used Lotor’s desk as a drawing table, and projected the image of the tattoos onto the paper so he could trace them. Soon, he pulled the markings out from the blank white surface, and Keith marveled at how similar they looked to the original ornamental pieces. 

In the end, Lotor lifted the pieces up side-by-side and said, “Are you sure you don’t just want… I don’t know, marital bracelets?”

“Tattoos, definitely,” Lance said.

Lotor lowered the drawings and stared flatly at Lance. “You’re really adamant on making everything permanent, aren’t you?”

Lance scowled at him, crossing his arms. “I’m not floaty! I’m settled!”

“Okay, I trust you,” Lotor promised.

However, as Lance settled the plans with a trusted artist Ezor brought in from the city, Lotor pulled Keith aside. “I just want to make sure that you are familiar with Lance’s... history.”

“What do you mean?”

Lotor donned a wary expression and shrugged. “It’s complicated—I know that his nymphal genes make him more susceptible to it, but... he’s a romantic, Keith. And I don’t think he’ll stop running around just because he’s married.”

Keith’s jaw tended as he scowled at Lotor. And here he thought Lotor was a upstanding guy. “Whatever he had with you isn’t the same. Did he mention that he contracted hanahaki before we got together?”

Given the distinctly Galran word, Lotor looked startled, and then bewildered when he realized what it was. “No, I never heard. And he’s better now?”

“Yes, but it was difficult. He was actually hypnotized into believing I loved him,” Keith explained, glancing over at where Lance squeaked in excitement over something the artist suggested. “He never went through anything like that with previous lovers. And I wouldn’t want him to. I’m glad that it will be his first and last experience with an illness like that.”

“I imagine it must have been dreadful.”

“It was,” he said, “and it’s why I believe that even if Lance falls in love with someone else, he’ll still love me as much as he does now. And I’m okay with that.”

“Are you certain?”

“Absolutely.”

As Lotor walked off to speak with the artist, Keith’s mind pulled forward the memory of how he ran the corridors expecting to find Lance flirting with someone else. He never wanted to believe these sorts of doubts were “normal” because of how wrong they felt. He didn’t want to _have_ to get used to feeling jealous. It wasn’t so farfetched for him to imagine himself acting under Lance’s jealous, nymphal instincts. Glaring at the guards. Hissing at Hunk and Pidge in the corridors. 

_Don’t turn into that_ , he told himself. _Don’t let what Lotor said get to you_.

When it came time for the inking process, Keith was reminded of Lance’s surety, and how he never did anything to suggest that he might change his mind. He was headstrong and committed in everything that he did. It explained how and why they were in Arus instead of Altea, and why Keith was dressed in Arusian fashion instead of Altean concubine suits. Keith was a huge part of Lance’s life now, and the feeling was mutual.

They laid on their stomachs on neighboring cushions, and as the artist’s set to work positioning the stencil, Keith felt Lance’s hand cross the gap between them. He joined their fingers together and said, “I’m so excited. Are you excited?”

“Of course,” Keith replied, turning his head to the side to beam at his future husband.

They spent the rest of the night half-asleep on the cushions as the artists pressed ink into their skin where it would stay for decades afterwards. In the morning, when the work was done, Lance tiredly stood up and went to his bag of things in nothing more than a pair of Arusian pants—much more flowy than classic Altean clothes. He paid the artists handsomely for working on such short notice (and through the night as well). 

Keith sat up as the artists left. It wasn’t quite sunrise, and so they were working by candlelight. Lance moved over to sit beside Keith and run his fingers over the ink on his back. His skin tingled and burned a little, and after a few weeks he’d have to keep from itching it to get rid of the scabs, but for now it was fresh and beautiful.

“I love it,” Lance said. 

“Let me see your’s.” Lance turned around and let Keith run his hands over the markings that traveled down the spine, and rested heavily along his shoulder blades. 

They were too exhausted to do much else, and so a servant took them to their bedchambers where they collapsed face-first on the mattress and fell asleep on contact. In the afternoon, with sunlight streaming in through the curtains, Keith woke up enveloped in Lance’s arms with his cheek pressed to Lance’s chest. He nestled closer, grateful that the temperature in Arus was more tolerable than Altea this time of year.

Lance combed his fingers through Keith’s hair. While Keith thought about Altea, the place he considered home now, Lance thought about his sister, and how she was likely losing her mind with worry over Lance.

“I shouldn’t have been so presumptuous. I know he’s only doing this to make me feel _guilty_ and he’s succeeded _incredibly_ well on that front,” Allura said between gasps of tears from where she sat on Lance’s comforter. 

Shiro was about to sit beside her when she barked at him to shut the doors. The guards went through the trouble of that, and so Shiro stood lost beside her until she reached a hand for his. “It’s only been three days and I’m losing my mind,” she said, her voice turning into a pained whine as she tipped onto her side. Shiro leant his arm down so that she could continue holding his hand. “Do you suppose he’ll never come back?”

Shiro knew Keith would. He knew Keith better than he did Lance. 

“I never meant to drive him away...” she moaned, dropping a hand over her eyes. “Have you heard anything about people in the city? About possible sightings?”

“No, none at all,” he confessed. “But everyone is trying their bests. The Imperial Guard especially—you know how much they care about Lance’s safety.”

“I know, I know,” she said, pushing herself up with a weak sniff. Her makeup was smudged and smeared, and so Shiro reached down to brush his thumb underneath her eyes and clean it up. “I’m... I’m afraid that when we find him, we won’t be able to convince him to come back...”

“Keith knows what the right thing to do is. I’m hoping that he’ll come to his senses sooner rather than later,” Shiro admitted, and looked away as Allura stared up at him and began crying again. “What is it? Don’t cry—“

“I’ve been so consumed by Lance that I never thought to consider... Oh, you must miss Keith immensely! I’m so sorry this happened—I shouldn’t have—“

“You were just being reasonable,” he insisted, shaking his head. “It was a perfectly rational conclusion. When they come back we can come to a consensus about the state of Keith’s status. He could continue being an escort but without the formal apparel. Keith’s spent all his life in military uniforms—it must have been a shock putting him in those clothes. It’s not your fault, Allura. It isn’t.”

He sat down beside her and let her cry into his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and promised that he’d do everything to help Captain Kolivan and the others find Lance and bring him home. 

This was how Shiro wound up outside the palace gates for the first time since visiting his home country for Keith’s fake execution. He dismounted his horse with the rest of Kolivan and his men, and together they moved towards the next section of the city that required following up with. The first day Lance disappeared, nearly the entire city was questioned under the Empress’ orders, and word spread fast after that point. Everyone in the city new, and everyone outside of the city knew. The military cut their troops and split them off down roads leaving Altea. They would continue to investigate the houses on the way, the towns built around common travel routes. 

That day they were at the docks, going through and speaking to all of the men and women out that day. The sky was thick with grey clouds, and there was a mist in the air that told Shiro that they only had an hour or so before they’d be caught in a downpour.

He was speaking to the captain of a merchant ship when the woman said, “I was here the day he disappeared, but me and my crew were asleep at that hour. There’s no reason we’d see or notice anything.”

“Did you happen to wake up at some point in the night?”

The woman crossed her arms and shrugged, saying, “Maybe. I already told your superior—I wouldn’t even be able to tell you what time I woke up or why or what I heard. Half asleep, you know how it goes. Now if you don’t mind, I really need to get back to work. I can’t delay my shipments any longer than I already have for you people—as much as I’d like to help, I just simply can’t. My apologies, sir.”

Shiro sighed and told her she could go, and glanced back at one of Kolivan’s guards, who offered a helpless shrug in reply.

Out of the corner of his eye, though, he spied a dock worker hidden between the concrete bricks framing an alleyway arch. The small boy was watching him, only to duck away when Shiro’s comrade looked. “I’m going to investigate something,” Shiro told the guard and instructed him to stay put and finish questioning the other workers on the captain’s ship.

Shiro followed the boy into the alley. The child crouched among the crates and gestures for Shiro to follow suit. “What’s your name?” he asked the boy.

The boy shook his head, hands tucked against his chin as he looked past Shiro to all the other guards out on the docks. “Do they frighten you?” Shiro asked, and reassured the boy that it was fine to be afraid. Allura’s Imperial Guard was certainly intimidating, especially to young children who didn’t know any better. Thankfully, though, Shiro wasn’t in uniform, and was more approachable to children who wandered the docks at night.

The boy stepped closer and cupped his hands around Shiro’s ear to whisper something there. Shiro thanked him afterwards and promised that he’d tell the guards for him.

“The Empress did promise a reward for anyone who helped,” Shiro said quietly—it wasn’t entirely false. It wasn’t broadcasted in fear of lies being spread for the money, and this boy was the first to open up with something useful.

Shiro pulled a coin pouch out of his pocket. It was half of everything his father gave him to help with settling him in at the palace. As it turned out, he didn’t need a cent of it. He gave the entire pouch to the boy. 

“Come by the palace any time. Tell the guards that you’re friends with Takashi Shirogane, and I’ll let them know to keep an eye out for you,” he said, and winked at the boy before heading back to the streets.

He went to Kolivan immediately and relayed the child’s report. “I honestly think it was them—a man wearing all white in a black cloak?” he said, and added, “But I’m mainly concerned about how we could possibly convince them to come back? The dock records say they took a ship to _Arus_.”

“The Prince has a friend living there,” Kolivan explained. “He’s likely settling in well there—it would be different if they went somewhere without friends of any kind waiting on the other side. The Empress was also concerned about this. Would you be willing to ask Hunk Garrett for assistance?” 

Upon Shiro’s approval of the plan, Kolivan said, “Return to the palace with him as soon as possible. The best approach would be to send people who aren’t directly linked to the Empress, such as myself and the other Imperial Guardsmen.”

“What about me? I could go,” Shiro offered, but Kolivan shook his head.

“The Empress ordered that you remain here. You are still under her command—you and your brother were never supposed to leave the palace to begin with. That was our bargain in the stead of full imprisonment. You two are guests, but with limitations. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have one other member of the party to reason with.”

Kolivan walked off and left Shiro with much to think about how his ride to the Garrett estate. He was let in through the front gate, and was announced after some debate with the hosting staff who came to great him at the stairs. He wasn’t expected, of course, so he could imagine the surprise on Hunk’s mother’s face when he walked in wearing the elaborate apparel most guests wore at the palace. The pattern on his shirt sleeves were detailed with golden thread, and was likely just as expensive as Hunk’s mother’s skirts.

“What a lovely surprise—Hunk’s told me so much about you,” she commented. “I’m afraid Hunk isn’t here today, though—he stopped by for a visit just before leaving with Shay.”

“Where were they off to, if you don’t mind me asking?” he asked, and was relieved when she informed him of their whereabouts at the racing track. By the time it was noon, Shiro found himself at the stadium, peering over elaborate hats and umbrellas in search of Hunk and Shay. Today, it seemed, Shay wasn’t one of the racers, and was instead being complimented by her adoring fans who likely pitched a hefty price for every race she and Dandelion won. 

Shiro approached behind the crowd, and to his left, a gust of wind buffeted his jacket and hair, and deafened him momentarily when the horses sped by. Bits of paper and confetti were kicked up in the breeze, and he hastily caught a woman’s hat that went flying towards the railing. He passed it along before left front and center before Shay and Hunk’s surprised faces.

“Shiro!” Hunk squeaked, twisting his hands nervously. “What is it, have you found them? Are they all right?”

“That’s… actually what I came to talk to you about,” he confessed, and gestured for them to leave the stadium. Shiro turned to lead the way, hurried down the steps, and walked into the tunnel beneath the seats. There, he turned back and found Shay following along. _Well, nothing wrong with that—she seems to be friends with Lance as well_ , he thought.

“The Prince is in Arus,” Shiro explained. “And the only person we can think to convince him to return would be you, Hunk.”

“What about you?” Hunk said. “I couldn’t—I’ve never—Traveling isn’t really my thing… and I get seasick…”

“Oh, you were all right going to Daibazaal,” Shay insisted.

“My bum hurt for _weeks_ after…” Hunk moaned.

Shiro sighed, rolling his eyes as the two of them bickered before saying, “I know this isn’t exactly ideal, but you and I both are hoping for Lance and Keith to come back, and this is the best option! The last thing Allura wants is to drag the Captain into this and likewise _drag_ Lance and Keith back here against their will. They didn’t leave off on good terms, you see.”

Hunk let out a distressed groan, and Shay reached out to sooth her hand up and down his arm. She gave him an encouraging smile and said, “It’s okay, Hunk. Perhaps… the anxiety of travel would be less intimidating if he had a friend for the trip there?”

She raised an eyebrow at Shiro, who then looked at Hunk for confirmation. Hunk nodded eagerly in relief. 

And, so, in less than two days, Hunk, Shay, Shiro, and Kolivan converged at the docks once more. With their bags packed (and plans for that week canceled), Shiro and Kolivan saw them off with a pat on the back and a wave. Shay waved back from the deck while Hunk clutched at his stomach, moaning, “I think I’m gonna be sick,” while Shay said, “We haven’t even _moved_ yet.”

 

. . .

 

“This is…”

“Uh, yeah…” Shay agreed, laughing from the sheer excitement of seeing Arus for the first time. “Can you _believe_ this? I’ve never traveled so far from home!”

“You’re one to talk.” Shay turned back, smiling, and found General Acxa with her arms crossed, scowling at the both of them, and then to the sheer white cliffs and beautiful city front. “ _You two_ aren’t coming from Daibazaal for this horseshit.”

“It’s not horseshit…” Shay sighed dreamily as she turned back to leaning against the deck railing. “It’s _beautiful!_ ”

General Acxa rolled her eyes, and turned away from the sight, and back to the endless expanse of the sea. She didn’t _ask_ for the Empress to call her away from her duties. She didn’t _ask_ for the Empress to transfer her to a completely different unit. A unit _she_ never signed up for. Her men and women back in Kuron were friends she grew up with, and now because of her “good deeds” she was in Altea.

Thankfully, though, it was easier to get along with Shay and Hunk after grudgingly escorting them to Daibazaal. The Garretts even offered to pay her for a permanent position among their guards, but… that wasn’t exactly Acxa’s style, and _definitely_ would have been a downgrade from her position as a general. 

So naturally, she declined. But she couldn’t exactly turn down orders from the Empress… unfortunately…

“Since when did the Prince turn into such a whiney little brat anyhow. We didn’t have all this trouble before from what I’ve heard,” Acxa said as they marched down the docks. She was in Imperial armor, and every sour look she got from the Arusian guards for having a sword were immediately directed to the Imperial crest on her chest, and then the middle finger she gave them for questioning it.

“Oh, we’ve always had issues with that, but overall he’s a nice guy,” Hunk said, and pardoned himself as he swayed towards the edge of the brick-lined coast and vomited one last time. Thankfully, Shay still had some of her mint supply left (though it was certainly depleting fast), and handed him one as he recovered. 

“Nice guy, huh? Brought us all the way out here, did he?” Acxa said mockingly. She was used to the summers in Kuron, but nothing _this_ tropical. Humidity would be her downfall, and the downfall of her hair on top of it—which was mainly why she always kept it cut short. “Let’s get moving—I don’t want to waste anymore time here than necessary.”

As she walked off, fuming, Shay and Hunk lingered behind and muttered to each other, “I could’ve sworn she was nicer before—” “I’ve never met anyone so unpleasant before in my life—” “I wonder if her parents are the same way—”

“I can _hear you guys_ ,” she spat from up ahead, but it didn’t stop Hunk from leaning over and whispering to Shay again:

“Ever since we told her to stop the pleasantries, this trip has gone severely downhill.”

“Unbelievable,” she muttered under her breath, and stayed quiet and pretended not to hear when Shay and Hunk got distracted by vendors. If she encouraged their dawdling, they’d never make it to the castle.

Still, it took them about half an hour to walk there by foot, and then another half hour trying to get clearance at the gate. “I’m literally wearing the Empress’ crest, what more do you want from me,” Acxa droned, and the guards raised their eyebrows at one another.

“We aren’t exactly a convincing lot,” Shay commented, staring up through the gate to the castle towers, and then back down to where Hunk started wringing his hands again. “Anything from the Empress seems to come in a fleet and an army.”

They twiddled their fingers for a moment longer before a woman in black started hurrying down the castle bridge. The thing that distinguished her most, though, happened to be her fiery pink hair, and captivating smile. 

The woman waved off the guards hurriedly and forced them to open the gates a smidgen so they could slip on through. “So sorry about that! It took ages for the Prince to get word that you were here and send me to fetch you. We don’t normally trust people who approach the gates without warning.”

“Not a problem!” Shay said, chipper as ever. She held out her hand. “Shay Crystal, and this is Hunk Garrett, close friend to the Prince. And… our guard, General Acxa.”

“Really? A general as a guard, you say,” the woman commented as she went around shaking their hands. She paused at Acxa, who suddenly seemed to be without wit or words at all. “Well, lovely to meet you all. You may call me Ezor—I work for His Majesty.”

“What do you do? For him. What sort of… work does that entail,” Acxa asked as Ezor turned to lead them along. Shay caught sight of her grimace— _so much for Acxa’s sarcastic elegance_ , she thought.

“My official title is ‘advisor,’ though I tend to dabble where he needs me to. When it comes to guests, for instance, he trusts me to ensure their comfort and needs,” Ezor explained, and Shay and Hunk wiggled their eyebrows at one another at the last bit.

Acxa kept in step with Ezor through the duration of the walk, hands clasped behind her, and all attention on the pink-haired woman showing them the way. Being a guard wasn’t one of Acxa’s top priorities—at least not until she had Lance in her custody—which meant that… until then… she might as well treat this like a vacation.

Ezor slowed at a set of closed doors, and Acxa said, “So is this where we’ll find the Prince?”

“Unfortunately, no. It took so long mainly because the Prince isn’t _here_ right now, necessarily,” she explained, and all of their expressions dropped. So much for an easy pick-up-and-go. “He and Keith went out to celebrate in the city. There’s music playing in the Circle—you all should join them after you speak with His Majesty—”

“No no no, we came here for Lance,” Hunk insisted, shaking his head. “That’s it. Where’s this, uh, this ‘circle’ you speak of?”

“This is ridiculous,” Acxa sighed, pressing her fingers to her temple just as the doors to the room opened.

“What’s ridiculous?” came the voice, and Shay lost her breath in the split second it took for her to recognize him. _The Arusian King himself_. 

King Lotor stepped over the threshold and into the hallway where their meager group stood. He crossed his arms, standing high above the rest of them. Hunk found himself quivering in his boots—he got the same vibe from Shiro when he first met the man before realizing that Shiro was a complete softy. He couldn’t say the same for King Lotor. 

“My King—I’ve brought the guests like you asked,” Ezor said. “They wish to see the Prince straight away.”

Acxa refused to be intimidated. She saw plenty of Galra, and even _half-_ Galras before. She was here on the Empress’ orders, not a King’s. “If you don’t mind, we really should be getting back to that. We don’t need to speak to you, and, quite frankly, it’s a waste of our time. The Empress ordered us to bring the Prince back, not dawdle around.”

Shay was too stunned to scold her, and Hunk was too terrified to do anything. Ezor stared wide-eyed at her, and then back at the King.

“Considering I’ve been harboring the Prince here, I’m sure you can infer just how much I care about the Empress’ orders,” he said.

“Oh! Um, speaking of,” Shay blurted out, reaching into her purse to produce the letter the Empress wrote—for King Lotor’s hands only. “I imagine it’s more of those orders you refuse to follow—Your Majesty.”

King Lotor grinned at her before taking up the paper. He slit the top of it as Acxa glared at him, and then again at the way his smile twisted into a scowl. “Hunk,” he said with purpose, and Hunk nearly pissed himself.

“Yes?”

“You’re friends with Lance, correct? Good friends—he speaks highly of you,” the King said, folding up the paper once more. Hunk nodded mutely. “In case you’ve forgotten, Lance and I have been pen pals ever since the alliance his sister made with my mother. Most of what he wrote about involved either Allura, or you. So you’ll understand me when I say that my loyalty to Lance is unquestionable. Anyone who’s close with him can understand it.”

“He… does have a way of doing that…” Hunk agreed, warily, as he saw Shay’s jaw drop at him. 

“Then you see why I can’t betray him. I know the three of you came here to retrieve him, and Allura’s orders just confirm it,” he said.

“Are you really willing to risk war with the Empress?” Shay demanded. “Why harm the innocent?”

“Allura won’t start war over this—our alliance is too valuable to ruin the trust we have between our people,” he said. “And if she does, then she’s risking Lance’s trust. I’m convinced that everything she has done since she was old enough to realize it, has been for Lance. Breaking his trust would mean everything was for naught.”

“You can’t seriously believe that,” Shay insisted. “She created the Empire to create a nation of peace and order—it couldn’t _just_ be for Lance.”

Lotor shrugged, and eyed them all before passing the note to Ezor. “I’ll be doing whatever Lance tells me to. Ezor, take them to the city to find those two _lovebirds_. Report back to me on what he says, and bring Zethrid with you.”

“I will, sir,” she replied.

Zethrid turned out to be the King’s personal guard. She wasn’t the Captain of the Royal Guard, but her size and strength made her appear as such. Hunk nearly wet himself at the sight of her, and couldn’t help but think about how his anxiety skyrocketed the second they left Altea. He really, _really_ did not like traveling and meeting new people.

Despite the attention Ezor gave Acxa, she was more or less as angry as before. This wasn’t a fucking vacation anymore. 

Shay seemed content, though. She admired the culture, and the people she never would have met had she not butted in on Hunk’s conversation with Shiro. Soon, she could hear the music from the city, and had the strong urge to dance to it from where she buzzed beside Hunk.

Zethrid’s vantage point was higher than the rest of them, and so she spotted them relatively easily from the outskirts of the crowd. “They’re part of a line dance up there—“

“Good, let’s go,” Acxa said, nudging ahead between groups of people with the rest of them following close behind. Ezor tried to squeak in a voice of uncertainty, but it didn’t hold until Acxa skidded to a halt at the crowd opening. Shay and Hunk froze behind her, staring from over her broad shoulders as they watched Lance and Keith sashay across the bricks in rhythm with a dozen other dancers. That wasn’t exactly what caught their eyes, though.

They wore patching Arusian clothes suited for the summer—their shirts were nothing more than long scarves hooked around their necks and tucked into the front of their loose trousers. They wore nearly transparent capes of the finest, shimmering silks that clasped onto the chest piece of their scarves. The makeshift cape looped far below their backs, so when they turned, they displayed the bare skin of their backs, and the marital tattoos pairing them together.

“You’ve _got_ to be kidding me,” Acxa breathed, hands going to her face as Shay tried her best to look optimistic about the situation. Hunk, on the other hand...

“You got married!” he cried above the music, and his voice was recognizable enough for Lance and Keith to both stop and look. Hunk was beaming at them, and running before he could stop himself.

“Hunk!” Lance exclaimed, giggling as his friend tore through the crowd and wrapped them both up in a massive hug.

Hunk twirled them, and Keith lost his balance as soon as they were let down. Lance caught him, still laughing as Hunk rattled on and on about how happy he was for them. “—I mean, I always knew you two would get married, how could you not? And the tattoos look incredible guys, how long did they take? I can’t believe you actually followed through with it, I mean—“

“Hunk—Hunk, breathe,” Lance said, and pushed himself into Hunk’s chest for another hug. He squeezed tight and said, “Gods, did I miss you. I’m so glad you’re here! We can hang out and eat these weird pastry things Keith and I have been devouring for the past few days.”

“They are really tasty. But then again, I love most things that involve chocolate,” Keith admitted, and smiled when Lance turned back to him with his arms out. Keith pulled him in closer, and wrapped his arms around Lance’s shoulders, “How’d you get here? We heard you came with Shay and Genera Acxa.”

Hunk pointed over to where the others were standing and talking amongst themselves. Lance waved happily to them, and Acxa and Shay both tried to keep the grimaces off their faces. Allura would maim them, but Hunk was oblivious to this.

“We were just going to get a few drinks and head back to the castle,” Keith said. “You all should come with us.”

While Hunk eagerly agreed, the others followed along for the sake of sticking with Lance, and hoping to sneak in a word on the matter of getting back to Altea. Unfortunately, though, Lance’s world was filled with light and flower petals, and the sound and smell of the ocean breeze. His attention was on Keith, and everything that had to do with Keith’s beautiful smile, his beautiful eyes, and his beautiful laughter in response to something Hunk said.

The moment Shay would open her mouth to ask about Allura, Lance would sigh dreamily and say, “This has been the happiest week of my life...” and when Acxa would try the same, Lance would ask, “Isn’t Arus beautiful? I’ve always wanted to come back here, but I never got the chance until now.”

“He’s not going to listen to us. I don’t even know if he knows why we’re here,” Shay confessed to Acxa, who had one foot posted on a support beam on her stool, and one hand clasped against the back of Ezor’s chair.

“If he doesn’t, Keith definitely does,” she said, and together they observed Keith as he downed the rest of his wine. His cheeks were pink from the influence of alcohol, and he was giggling like mad. Hunk was long gone as well, and the night was growing dark outside of the tavern they were in.

“It might just be easier to talk to Keith?” Shay suggested, and then grimaced. “Maybe when he isn’t so... _drunk_.”

“He never used to drink before he came to Altea,” Lance sighed from beside Shay. “It was against his general’s rules.” It seemed his hearing was selective, and on the lookout for any mention of Keith.

Shay looked at Lance, and then to the glass of wine Acxa had. “Oh, piss off,” Acxa spat at her, and downed the rest of her drink. 

She was pissy because she knew that at the end of the night, she would be the one to carry Keith back because he was too intoxicated to walk normally. Zethrid carries Hunk, and Lance all but clung to Acxa, moaning, “Let me carry him, _pleeease_!” Shay would tug him off and let Lance hold her hand for the walk.

After Ezor helped Acxa settle Keith into bed, and force Lance to calm down and stop saying things like, “I’m the only one who gets to carry him! Fight me!”

“Lance—it’s late, let’s get you to bed,” Shay insisted, running her hands through his hair to calm him down. Acxa rolled her eyes and walked off in the direction of where Ezor disappeared behind the door.

Acxa hadn’t expected Ezor to pull her aside by surprise, against the wall that was out of view from the guest suite. Acxa tipped her head back, trying to stifle her grin as she said, “I could use a little help with something.”

Ezor pushed her hand against Acxa’s chest, soothing her hand up the column of Acxa’s neck teasingly, testing her limits. Acxa exposes her neck and shivered when Ezor whispered, “I like the way you think. Allow me to show you to your room.”

Later, after they were long gone, Shay emerged from helping Keith and Lance to bed. She closed the doors behind her, and walked off in the direction of her room. After sleeping on a ship the past few nights, she was grateful for a comfortable mattress again. She would talk to Keith in the morning.

Keith, though, wouldn’t wake up until late in the day. But before he was berated by a hangover, he was warm and comfortable, and fully aware that Lance was crawling all over him before settling on Keith’s stomach. Lance laid both hands on Keith’s chest and said, “I wanted to carry you.”

“I’s okay...”

“But you’re mine,” Lance insisted, pouting. Keith wiggled around before grunting and tipping over onto his side. Lance fell onto the mattress, linking his ankles together on Keith’s back, and prompting Keith to lay on top of him.

Lance prepared for sleep then, only to be distracted by Keith’s hot tongue licking up his bare chest. He lapped up Lance’s chin, kissed his lips lazily, and said, “All mine,” before promptly passing out directly on top of Lance. Lance didn’t even care that he couldn’t breathe—that had to be the best thing Drunk Keith did yet.

 

. . .

 

The morning came, and so did the headache that Keith swiftly got over after a hefty breakfast with everyone else. He was almost too distracted by the food to recognize the fact that everyone, aside from Ezor and Lotor, had their eyes on him—Lance counted, but his stares were different. He’d been staring at Keith a lot like Keith would run off and so he was trying to memorize as much of Keith’s face as possible before that happened. The thought had Keith reaching a hand underneath the table to hold Lance’s.

Following the meal, Keith stood up with Lance, and Shay stood up fast. Hunk looked alarmed to be dragged out of his spot, and Acxa was no longer any help—she was too preoccupied by conversing with Lotor’s advisor. Shay hurried after them, and Keith’s content morning soon soured his expression. 

“Lance!” Shay said as they hurried through the dining room doors. “Hunk wanted you to show him around! I mean, Ezor sort of gave us a tour, but I’m sure you’ve done a bit of exploring yourself.”

Lance gasped in excitement, exclaiming, “Of course! Hunk, I need to show you my favorite spot, come on—”

Shay grabbed Keith by his free hand so that when Lance tried to take off, he was jolted to a halt by Keith’s inability to move. “Just the two of you! It’ll be fun,” she said. 

Lance squinted at her and gave a short tug on Keith’s arm. Keith shrugged. “Fine,” he relented, dropping Keith’s arm with a sigh. He replaced his now-empty hand with Hunk’s and tugged his best friend along. Lance’s energy came back in a matter of a few seconds, and soon they were running despite all of Ezor’s rules not to, especially with all the sculptures around and expensive trinkets in glass displays. 

Shay and Keith watched them disappear around the corner before Keith said, “I know what you’re going to say.”

“I know you probably do. But no one else seems to be taking this seriously anymore,” she said with a sigh. “And trust me —I don’t want to ruin the fun or anything, but I feel that this is necessary. And you two would continue to have fun—in Altea.”

“Ever since we got our new room, I always considered the palace to be home, but I think Lance is trying to move on from it,” Keith confessed, and Shay deflated. “Don’t get me wrong, he loves the palace, but he’s spent his _entire_ life there! Especially as of late! Allura doesn’t let him travel anymore, and I think… I mean, Lance is a generally happy guy, but I’ve never seen him like he is now!”

“I’m sorry, Keith,” she confessed, looking down at her hands. They fell silent for a moment, and so Shay started to walk, and Keith followed. “I guess I just… I’m worried about the Empress. Your brother—he mentioned something to Hunk before we left. It sounded like she’s been taking Lance’s absence _really_ badly. Like, she’s practically in _mourning_ , Keith, and I can’t see a reason why she would pretend? She’s always been such a strong leader. I’ve never even heard of her _crying_.”

“I know—it’s almost like she isn’t human.”

“ _Keith—_ ”

“No, you know what? I don’t fucking care because I’m pissed at her. Did he tell you why? Did my brother tell you _why_ we left in the first place?” Keith snapped at her, and when she shook his head, he told her. It didn’t feel as embarrassing as it was before, especially when he was no longer wearing the concubine suit, but he could see Shay’s shock at the mention of it. “I am not going back there, not if she plans on putting me through that again. It’s part of the reason we got married to begin with—because Lance and I are _equals_. And I’m not talking about status bullshit, all right?”

Shay clenched her fists and tried not to argue, because she knew he was right. She knew it was wrong of her Empress to do something like that to _Keith_ , of all people. In a past life, Keith would have been a general, not an escort. “Fine, I can see where you’re coming from,” she sighed.

“Thank you—”

“But if Hunk and I don’t bring you two back, she’ll send people here to bring you back by force. I know she doesn’t want to, but she will, and then… th-then I don’t know what will happen to us. Hunk and I. And maybe Acxa.” She lifted her gaze from the floor, looking Keith in the eye. He blinked at her, and felt guilty for having acknowledged it in the back of his mind, but never fully considered it. “Hunk told me about the time the Empress punished him, but I think he’s forgotten that the threat is real. And I love to think that she’s a forgiving woman, but with an Empire this size, she can’t tolerate ineffectiveness. And… I trust her judgement.”

Keith turned away from her, towards the dining room door, and then down the hall in the direction of where Lance and Hunk came from. Of everything he and Lance talked, Hunk was a hot topic, and Keith could already picture a world without Hunk. Lance would never want to mention him, unless his imagination ran wild. Coming back from fantasies about Hunk would leave Lance depressed and Keith would be unable to cheer him up…

“Lance wouldn’t want that for the two of you,” Keith confessed, and Shay remained quiet. He took a shaky breath and pinched his fingers over the bridge of his nose. “And… I know what you’re asking. I’ll see if I can convince Lance.”

“I’m sorry to put this on you—we tried to talk to Lance, but he’s been kind of… hard to speak reason with since we got here. You’ve made him unbelievably happy, Keith—I’m so glad that the two of you are together.”

Keith smiled at her, and felt less bogged down with her approval now lifting him up. “I’ll see what I can do to keep your praise high,” he said, mockingly saluting her as they turned the next corner heading up a platform of stairs. 

 

. . .

 

Keith looked at himself in one of the many mirrors on the wall of trinkets in the sitting room attached to their guest bed chambers. Lance hadn’t said anything since Keith suggested they leave, and he could see Lance contemplating the idea from where he sat on one of the floral-patterned couches. Keith turned away from the artwork when he noticed that Lance’s ears were flat against his curly brown hair.

“Don’t you want to spend more time with me?” Lance asked, ears flattened back and lowering still. He looked like Keith had just kicked him and he was asking why. 

“Lance, are you kidding me?” Keith said, trying to hold back how upset he was with the way Lance was looking at him. There wasn’t… anything _wrong_ with just _asking_ to go back, right? Was this a trick? “Of course I want to spend time with you. Everywhere I go I’ll be with you.”

“Yes, but this is—this is different! This is—Keith, it’s our… _honeymoon_. It’s only been, like, a few hours it feels like,” Lance confessed, looking down. When he spoke now, he couldn’t look Keith in the eye, even as Keith crouched down in front of him and clasped his hands over Lance’s knees. Lance pulled a foot up onto the seat cushion as he said, “I just want to spend time with you without people breathing down our necks. Aren’t you having fun?”

“ _Yes_ , of course I am—”

“Then what’s the problem? Why do you want to go back so terribly?” Lance demanded. “Is this—Is this your way of saying I’m just… too clingy? Because at home you’re always spending time with Shiro and Pidge and whoever else when you aren’t with me—”

“You aren’t clingy, Lance. And even if you are, I love it. Be as clingy as you want,” Keith insisted. “We have our own suite now, and we can just spend all our time there or out by the ocean and—”

“But we always do that,” Lance said, voice turning to a low whine as he started to tear up. He pressed the heel of his palm to his cheek, brushing away tears. “I- I miss traveling. I miss traveling with Allura…”

Keith reached a hand up to Lance’s cheek and collected tears on his fingers. He let Lance cry as he tried to recalculate where this conversation was going. So it wasn’t about Keith’s neglect (though he couldn’t understand that) anymore. This wasn’t about their honeymoon right now, or even the traveling. 

“You miss her,” Keith whispered, and Lance put his hands over his face to cover up the answer. “Oh, Lance, I’m so sorry—we wouldn’t have come here if I hadn’t overreacted about—”

“No, Keith, it’s fine—I just wish I wasn’t s-so _dependent on her_ ,” he confessed. “I love her so much I can’t stop thinking about her even when I try. You’ve been such a breath of fresh air that every time I spent talking to you, I could forget about her for a little while. And Hunk, and Pidge, and— _fuck—_ and even Kolivan. I think about them all too much…”

“There’s nothing wrong with caring about the people you love,” Keith insisted, moving up to sit beside Lance. He gathered Lance up in his arms and wrapped his legs around Lance’s waist. “Don’t feel guilty about it, please don’t.”

“I know, I’m sorry. And I just want you to know that I don’t regret this at all,” Lance said quickly, waving his hands in front of his face. “I could _never_ regret marrying you, or even coming here to Arus and getting to see Lotor again. It’s all been _so,_ so great.”

“I loved it, too,” Keith hummed, kissing Lance’s ear. Lance straightened up a bit, the distress drifting out of his expression, and relaxing his posture. They sat in silence together as Keith pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to clean up Lance’s cheeks and then hand it to him to blow his nose with. 

Lance tucked his head beneath Keith’s chin and said, “Perhaps… it is time to go back.”

Keith nestled him close, closing his eyes with a sigh. “Perhaps we do…” he replied, and tipped his head to the side to see Lance clearly. Lance looked up at him, and it took several seconds for Keith to realize that Lance’s cheeks were dotted with deep blue markings, and his shoulders were defined by the same blue glow drawing a line between his jaw and shoulder. Keith followed it with his fingers, wondering whether or not this shade of blue was different from Lance’s usual marking color. 

The world wasn’t as different as it usually was when Keith stepped through Lance’s mind. In fact, it was relatively _normal_ aside from the vibrance. It was quiet in their little sitting room, and when Keith combed his fingers through Lance’s hair, he could feel a shuddered breath course through him that wasn’t his own. 

“It’s okay to be unhappy,” Keith murmured, pressing his hands to Lance’s chest. “I’m right here for you.”

“I’m overreacting…”

“No you aren’t,” he reassured Lance, and together they stood up to tell the others. On the way out, they passed the wall of mirrors. Keith hesitated at the sight of a stranger reflected in it, and stopped to stare at him where he stood holding Lance by the hand. Lance paused and looked back at Keith.

“What is it?” he asked.

Keith reached up, and the reflection followed his movements. This wasn’t what he remembered Lance’s apparition of him looking like. But perhaps he couldn’t see it all, not all of what Lance saw. He pulled a hand through his hair, and to where it caught on his raised, _fluffy_ ears. They were purple, as purple as the dragon’s breath Lance’s illness forced up his throat. They were sharp and shaped like straight, triangular wings bracketing the top of his head. Black hairs protruded from them, and when he touched them, his sensitive ears flicked back. He didn’t feel them until now, and how crystal clear even the sound in Lance’s world was. 

He dragged his hands down to where his human ears normally were. The skin was—it was—

_Flat_.

“F-Fuck,” he stammered, breathing hard as he stepped closer to the mirror and pulled at his ears, _hard_. He yelped in pain, and they flattened back. “I have— _ears_. Holy fuck—”

“You always have them,” Lance said, but his words were distant, clouded in everything else blending in Keith’s newfound realization. He could hear footsteps down the hall, voices in another room, the wind outside, and—

He pressed a hand to the wall, suddenly paler than ever, and tried to stay standing. He clasped his hands over the flat skin on either side of his jaw and slid down the wall. Lance followed him down, asking what was wrong. Keith clutched at his animalesque ears and didn’t even care if it hurt because he was already passing out.

When he finally came to, the world was dull again, and Keith’s hands were clasped over his human ears on the floor. Lance was mildly stroking his hair even as he sat up, heart pounding. He tugged at his earlobes, reassuring himself that they were real. “I can’t believe you never knew you had Galran ears.”

“ _Those_ are not Galran,” Keith said, trying to laugh, but it came out as a wheeze.

Lance tipped his head curiously and said, “Of course they are. So many ancient leaders from your nation are depicted with animal ears.”

“Yes—because animals were considered sacred back then,” Keith insisted. “ _Not_ because we actually had animal ears—right?” 

Lance shrugged and abandoned the idea. He helped Keith get back to his feet. All the way down the hall, Keith continued to tug at his ears and then over his hair to reassure himself that they were gone. He was still quietly contemplating just how long Lance saw him with ears when they finally ran into Hunk and Shay out on one of the balconies overlooking the white ocean cliffs. The sky was clear and reminded Keith of the fact that his skin was already pink from all of the sun the were getting, but Lance looked just as perfect as ever without the significant tan lines Keith had. 

He stuck to the doorway as Lance walked up to Hunk and Shay hesitantly. He still had Keith’s handkerchief in his hand, twisting it around between his fingers as he explained the situation. They’d go back to Altea, and Lance would, once again, do everything he could to make sure Allura saw reason and not punish everyone who was involved. Shay gave Lance a reassuring hug afterwards, and told him that she was grateful for his understanding. 

“I’ll find Acxa and have her work with Ezor to make the trip arrangements,” Hunk said, and Lance hurried to follow after him. He clung to Hunk’s arm as they passed Keith, who smiled and nodded encouragingly to Lance to head off with Hunk.

Keith stepped out onto the balcony after they were gone, and was relieved to breathe in the clean air. Shay beamed at him from the railing.

“Thank you, Keith, it means a lot to me. What you did,” she said.

“I’m glad I did. I hadn’t realized that Lance was homesick until we started talking about it,” he explained, and stood beside her with his forearms resting on the railing. “Truthfully, I think he misses Allura more than anything. I shouldn’t have driven a wedge between them—that wasn’t right of me.”

“Regardless, you had your reasons for acting out,” she said. “I wouldn’t blame you.”

“Then who would you blame?” he laughed, and hesitated when Shay gave him a sharp look and turned away. Neither of them could vocalize the answer. 

They coexisted in silence until they heard someone screaming down the hallway. Keith spent enough time around Lance to recognize it, and soon both Hunk and Lance came screaming into the room and to the balcony. Keith raised an eyebrow at the sound of small feet scratching against the tiles, and looked to find a _dog_ on Lance’s heels, nipping at his ankles and chasing him through the halls. 

Hunk yelped as one of the many dogs leapt up onto his hip and tried to take him down. There had to be a dozen of them, and they swarmed the balcony where Shay was eager to pet each and every one of them. 

Above all the ruckus, Hunk managed to say, “Lotor’s just getting back, so we weren’t able to chat yet!”

“Getting back from what?” Keith said, and Lance hurriedly pointed down from the balcony railing to where they could see horses coming in from the bridge. The four of them all leaned over and waved, and from such a great height, it was a miracle that Lotor even noticed them from his perch on his horse.

One of the servants came in then, pale from the horror of finding Lotor’s hunting dogs in the castle. She tried to coax them out, but the dogs didn’t leave until Lance goaded them and waved his arms before taking off at a full-out sprint into the hallway. He skidded around the corner with everyone following him, dogs and all.

It was nearly the same way Lance ran across the docks the following morning swinging his arms like he was a bird. He kicked his leg up and sent a flurry of seagulls racing off of the dock railings. He jumped up with a shout of excitement, hands in the air as they aimed to conquer the rising sun. Keith and the others were farther back, accompanied by Lotor and an entourage of guards and assistants. Ezor was with them, as was Zethrid, and as they approached the line of workers on the ship, Ezor turned to Acxa with a sealed letter. 

“This is for if you ever decide to visit again,” she said, smiling hopefully as Acxa took it. “I know guard work isn’t your style, so I asked the King if anything could be done with getting you a position in our military. You’d be closer then, to me, if you… wanted, that is.”

Acxa blinked in surprise. She didn’t think she’d ever appreciate another offer again, especially when the Empress’ orders were so final. But Arus seemed… exactly up her alley, though it was a bit quiet from what she understood of their politics. 

“I’ll consider it,” she promised, and managed a soft smile that had Ezor blushing with excitement.

The line of sailors all went to their knees and bowed when Lotor passed them. He walked past the ship entrance to where Lance was still standing at the end of the pier. Keith watched from afar as Lotor said something to Lance before the two of them shared a long hug. It showed just how incredibly _tall_ Lotor was in comparison to Lance’s petiteness. His arms wrapped all the way across Lance’s shoulders and then some, and Keith was reminded of how Lotor reassured him that they were one in the same—Keith’s Galran genes would kick in, and he’d be as tall as Shiro and Lotor in no time.

He tugged at his nonexistent animal ears, and just wound up grabbing at air.

They boarded the ship shortly thereafter, and Lance ran down the railing to wave to Lotor and the others on the pier, even as the ship pulled away and started out to sea. Keith came to stand with him, and took a moment to glance at the low cut of Lance’s shirt. His marital markings were visible then, and when Keith let one of his fingers drift over them, Lance let out a shuddering breath.

“I’m ready for home,” Lance said, and added with firm aspirations: “I’m ready to talk to my sister.”

 

. . .

 

Keith wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when they returned, aside from everything he could predict with Shiro. His brother would likely scowl at him, arms crossed, and that was exactly how he found Shiro at the front gate of the palace, waiting for their carriage to bring them in. When the carriage paused for the gate, Keith hopped out of his seat to meet his brother. He shut the door, so that they could continue on without the two Galra Princes holding them back.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Shiro said, but Keith could hear the hint of laughter in his voice as Keith walked up, head down. “I can’t _believe you—_ ”

“I know, I’m sorry for worrying you,” Keith sighed, and squeaked when Shiro wrapped him up in one of his tight hugs. All through the ride he had been cold until then, in his brother’s warm arms, and he held on for a moment longer before Shiro clasped an arm around his shoulders and started to walk towards the palace.

“I’m just glad that you’re back,” Shiro said. “It’s been a… _long_ few weeks…”

Keith was about to ask why when they were both interrupted by the sound of Allura shrieking from the palace entrance. They stopped to watch her all but sprint down the steps to collide with Lance. Lance all but jumped into her arms, wrapping his legs around her waist as her laughter turned into sobs of joy. She clutched her hands against the fabric of Lance’s winter cloak, and as she spun them, the fabric twirled with them. Lance repeatedly kissed her hair, her temples, her forehead and cheeks before Allura at last set him on the steps.

Keith let out a breath of relief. Allura was quick to get Lance inside where the palace rooms were all warmed with fireplaces, and Keith and Shiro followed after them. Hunk and Shay were already back in their own homes, and Acxa tagged along with them considering her duties weren’t exactly lifted yet. She stuck to Keith’s side as Lance was peppered with kisses from Allura, wrapped up in wool blankets, and fitted with a mug of hot tea. 

Allura only broke away when she realized that other people were in the room. She clasped her hands under her chin, smiling until she reached Keith. She gasped in excitement, hurrying to him where he tensed up and prepared for her ridiculing. Instead, she enveloped him in a hug.

“I’m so thankful that you all made it back all right,” she said. She clutched at his arm, and reached for Acxa’s. “Thank you both for keeping Lance safe. It means so much to me.”

“Anything for you, your Highness,” Acxa said, and Keith was too stunned to say a single word. 

Allura pulled Keith by the arm to sit at one of the cushions, and then sat alongside Shiro. She dismissed Acxa from her work, and promised to compensate her for her help. Acxa bowed, winked at Keith and Lance, and left then. In the hallway, she clutched Ezor’s letter through the folds of her uniform.

“So, I hear you two were in Arus,” Allura said, as if they were talking about a casual weekend vacation. “How is Lotor?”

“He’s great! I haven’t seen him in so long—he’s, like, twice as tall as me!” Lance exclaimed, stretching his arms up. “He’s as tall as Shiro.”

“I’m not that tall, am I?” Shiro said, frowning.

“Most everyone is taller than you, though,” Keith told Lance.

“We’re the same height, though,” Lance insisted with a whine. Keith laughed, nudging Lance’s arm to reassure him that he was kidding. 

“And what of Lotor’s companion? I remember liking her, even before when they were first friends under his mother’s rule,” Allura commented.

“Ezor? Oh, she’s great. She and Acxa got along real well,” Lance said. “I was surprised. Acxa seems indifferent about most people.”

“Oh? But she was fine on your trip, wasn’t she?” Allura said, and the loaded question had Lance backtracking and reassuring his sister that Acxa was perfect as a guard. “Good—I’m glad to hear. And Keith?”

“What about me?” Keith said, raising an eyebrow at her.

“How was the trip there?” she asked.

He shrugged, taking a sip of the tea one of the servants offered him. “It was fine. We didn’t have any issues, and the ship we came in on was helpful. The workers were nice enough. No problems.”

“Oh—that’s good,” she said, as if she had been expecting Keith to say something along the lines of, “I had to kill five people to save the Prince” instead. After a moment of talking about Arus, Allura said, “I’ll have to send something to compensate Lotor for your stay.”

“He said it was fine and that he didn’t need anything—”

“Still I should—”

“Allura,” Lance insisted, “Lotor and I are friends. _Actual_ friends. It really wasn’t an issue going there, honest.”

She studied him for a moment before sticking her nose up. “All the more reason.”

Lance sighed, but his annoyance turned into a giddy smile as he and Allura shared a look. They both softened, and Keith reassured himself that everything would be—

A messenger came in then. Pidge was off in the corner of the room, and left to receive the note. When she came back, she was staring at Keith, and then at Lance, and then realized that Allura was waiting for her to say something. “We’ve just received a message from Lord Garrett, your Highness,” she said.

“And? What is it?” Allura said, straightening her skirt. Pidge looked at the other servants in the room and ordered them to leave. Only once the doors were closed did she speak.

“As can be expected, the young Lord shared the travel with his family members. It seems…” she paused, looking at Lance again before finishing, “The Prince and Keith have… They’ve eloped, ma’am.”

The silence was so dense that Keith felt it crushing his numbing fingers. He stared at Allura, who hadn’t removed her eyes from Pidge for even a second. Keith looked at Shiro, who slowly put a hand on his head as if suddenly his skull was too heavy to lift. 

Pidge fidgeted. “Lord Garrett is wondering if you’d like him to contain the news. Several of his servants heard.”

Allura looked down at her teacup, a hand on her chin. Eventually, she cleared her throat and said, “Coran and I have already been considering other options… So this is fine. Tell the Garretts to keep the news under wraps until we conclude with everything to do with the details of the marriage.”

Pidge nodded and left with a bow. The servants remained outside in the corridor, and as the doors shut again, the room swelled under the tension of Allura’s face and shoulders. She still had her hand cupped against her chin as she looked up at the first person across from her—Keith.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” she confessed. “Our timeline will just simply have to be… _squished_.”

“What timeline?” Lance asked quietly. “You aren’t… You aren’t mad?”

“I’m… trying not to be,” she insisted tersely, lowering her hands to the edge of the table. “But Coran has already sent word to your temporary doctor Thace. He’ll be coming in the next month to finalize things.”

“What ‘things’?” Lance insisted. “Has something happened?”

“Well, considering Keith no longer exists on the records, we have to put him in a different position. An escort would have been ideal—no one looks into those details—but we’ll be… Thace had a son who was drafted into the military and went missing during the war. He was assumed to be dead, but…”

“Oh,” Keith said, jaw dropping as he understood. “I’m… I’m to be _adopted?_ ”

“Yes,” she said. “And this works perfectly, because everyone knew that at one point, Lance was ill, and Thace was visiting—we could have his son return from being missed, and accompany his father to the palace where the rest is history. The story goes that the two of you met during that time when you were apprenticing under your father Thace. He’s a respectable man, and while his vocation isn’t _high status_ by any means… its better than your current standing.

“You already look incredibly different than when you first arrived,” she continued, confident as always. “And Thace is Galran—when you go through your physical changes, you’ll be unrecognizable. We will cut your hair, and with Altean makeup, you’ll look nothing like Zarkon’s son. The world won’t know the difference.”

“And…” Shiro started, drawing Keith and Lance’s attention to him, “I know… most everyone considers you to be the prettier of the two Galran Princes, but puberty might change a lot of that. You remember how we used to look like twins when we were younger?”

Keith did remember. The servants had a hard time telling the difference between them before they started training and living separately. Shiro went through puberty early, though, and then, suddenly, they looked nothing alike. And Keith was considered to be the Most Beautiful Man Alive. 

“It’s perfect timing. I’m just grateful that Thace was willing at all,” Allura confessed. “I don’t know who else I would have trusted with this. I know no other Galra families close enough to my own.”

“And I liked Thace,” Lance confessed. “So he’s really coming back?”

“Yes,” she said, beaming at him. “And he’s welcome to stay with his family if he so chooses. His son _did_ marrying into the Imperial Family anyhow.”

She ruffled Lance’s hair, and Lance giggled. Keith found himself smiling—he couldn’t help himself. Everything was falling into place in ways he never could have expected. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I made a survey](https://girlskylark.typeform.com/to/zkiD8u) a lil while ago to help with framing future fics. I've been experimenting a lot with smol oneshots, testing the waters—you know how it goes—in preparation for getting back into the swing of things like last year. SO LET ME HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS, DAMMIT, IT'S HELPFUL.
> 
>  
> 
> **ART OF MY BOIS**  
> [Mona's Altean!Lance Galra!Keith](http://girlskylark.tumblr.com/post/168680418310/the-only-keith-username-left-more-fanart-of)  
> [Mona's outfit design](https://yootyootmonq.tumblr.com/post/168370786836/sketches-i-plan-to-color-of-nymph-lance-from)  
> [More outfit designs](http://girlskylark.tumblr.com/post/168876834710/some-nymph-lonce-for-the-soul)
> 
>  
> 
> [Find me on Tumblr!](http://girlskylark.tumblr.com/)


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